Ginny Chronicles Part 2: The Lioness Within
by justalittleconfusing
Summary: How does Ginny evolve from the girl who sticks her elbow into a butter dish into a woman who leads the DA in a secret underground rebellion? The Lioness Within will take Ginny through her second year as a student. She will learn to face the impact of Tom's possession and find a new internal strength.
1. Chapter 1

Ginny laid unmoving in her childhood bed, her body stretched and stiff. The steady rise and fall of her chest was the only indication she was alive. Gwenog Jones, the Holyhead Harpies Quidditch captain, flew circles across the bright yellow walls from poster to poster without disturbing her owner's slumber.

"Ginny, breakfast" Molly called up the stairs.

Ginny's eyes burst alert to the day. Her arms remained fixed at her sides in her comatose posture. What time was it? How long had she been asleep? Ginny sat up in a cold pool of sticky residual sweat. Damp sheets clung to her skin as she tried to extricate herself from her bedding. Her heart raced as if she had completed an intense flying session with Gwenog instead of first waking. Flinging her body on her bed she waited for her pulse to return to normal. She squeezed her eyes shut to avoid the light pouring in through her window.

She hated this part of the day, the waking from the Dreamless Sleep potions. Six weeks ago she was given her first dose in the hospital wing after being rescued by her childhood hero, Harry Potter, from the Chamber of Secrets. One of the darkest wizards of all time, "He Who Should Not Be Named", spent a year targeting and possessing her with dark magic. Her memory was riddled with gaps after she ignored her Dad's teaching and she willingly corresponded with an object that replied despite having no visible witch or wizard connected. The parts she could remember, blood on her hands, the basilisk, and hurting her friends, left her screaming in the night.

Madam Pomfrey, Hogwort's healer, said she needed her rest, her body needed to recover from the trauma. So her Mum gave her a teaspoon of Dreamless Sleep before bed to help her sleep without silencing charms. Waking up to a blank void filling time and space felt too much like the lost time from "He Who Should Not Be Named", or Tom, the personified diary version she intimately knew. Ginny got out of bed and pulled her dressing gown over her pajamas. She drew her long red hair out of the back of her collar allowing it to cascade down her back.

"Ginevra Molly Weasley I do not serve breakfast in bed. You come down in the next 10 minutes if you want to eat!" Molly roared up the stairs.

Ginny sighed. Today was another day. She walked into the hall as the floorboards creaked beneath her feet. The annoying daily sound calmed her heart and steadied her pulse. Walking on these old floors reminded her that she was home and she was safe. She took a moment to stand outside of her door creaking the loose floor board playing a song only she knew.

"Ginny, do you have to start every day making so much noise?" Percy brushed past her to his room. She stuck her tongue at the back of his head and continued her walk downstairs.

"Oh, there you are Ginny. I was about to yell again." Her mum stood at the foot of the stair. She brushed the hair away from Ginny's eyes and looked at her face. "Run along and eat up. You have a long list of chores to help me with this morning."

It was interesting, every morning since returning home there was a long list of chores waiting for her. Ginny turned away from her Mum and crinkled her nose obeying her order for breakfast. Today would be another day filled with simple tasks keeping her within five feet of her mother at all times. Ginny sat across from her Dad and smiled feebly at him as he drank his coffee and read the Morning Prophet. He smiled at her before folding the paper to start a conversation. In the last moment, he stopped and hid behind the paper reading his article.

"I was thinking of going for a swim this morning. Before midday and the heat picks up," Ginny tested her Mum. Seeing if she could push her into giving her space and time to herself today.

"No, I am afraid not. There is much to do this morning. You need to help me clean the coop, resort the broom shed, and de-gnome the garden."

"If you like I can work on the coop by myself while you tend to your garden. Then we could do the broom shed together this afternoon after I swim."

Her Mum's bowl stopped mixing by itself. The spoon clattered to the side leaving the kitchen eerily quiet. Her face crinkled in consternation as she processed the rebuttal. Ginny's Dad cleared his throat and shot Molly a knowing look. He folded the front page down on the table and switched to the Quidditch section.

"There is no sense in both of us putting up with the smell," Ginny tried.

"You know I don't mind. It will go twice as fast if we do it together," Mum rebutted.

"But you hate cleaning the coop."

"Ginny," Her Mum said not as her name but as a thinly veiled threat. With one word Ginny knew she pressed too far.

"But you do! You hate cleaning the coop you always complain about how it is your least favorite chore! I don't mind, honest."

"We will do it together and that is final." The spoon rose re-entering the bowl. It spun around the bowl at a frenzied pace. Bits of cake batter shot over the sides hitting her Dad on the side of his ear. Ginny looked down into her eggs defeated. She didn't have the energy to fight back. Everything felt so insurmountable these days. Battles a year ago she would have spent all day fighting to get her Mum to move an inch. Places she used to love to egg people on to get a rise. They all felt too large to bother.

"Alright, Mum let me change. I will meet you in a minute." Ginny's voice deadened barely above a whisper. What was the point in fighting? Her Mum didn't trust to leave her alone for five minutes. She probably thought Ginny would summon another dark lord or join the death eaters by accident.

"Ginny."

"It's okay. I am not very hungry anyway." Ginny pushed away from the table leaving behind a half-finished breakfast plate. Food didn't taste the same lately. What should have been buttery fluffy eggs tasted like flat cardboard. Everything turned her stomach, but if she didn't eat at least half a plate her Mum would worry more.

Ginny shuddered at a chill sweeping through the warm inviting kitchen. She trudged up the stairs. Thinking she was out of earshot she heard her Dad speak to her Mum. She stopped walking and hid in the corner of the landing feeling the embrace of his gentle baritone voice.

"You are doing the right thing Mollywobbles."

"I know dear, I am just worried." Her mum sighed in resignation.

"We need to keep our eyes on her."

"But she isn't fighting back. Why isn't she pushing me harder? Where is our little spitfire?"

"She is in there dear, we just need to keep at it and keep her close. She needs to feel safe and secure again."

"I miss her."

"I know, so do I. But we will get her back. And until then, I will make Lucius's life a living hell for daring to touch my daughter with his vile dark filth. I will throw every possible raid on him. We have already started talking to his free elf. I know there are more dark objects in that house. I promise you he will pay for what he has done to our family." A stranger's voice filled with venom replaced her father's. Ginny never heard her gentle kind father speak with such deep contempt and hatred. There was something animalistic about the way he said Lucius's name. He spoke with pure aggressive hatred.

"I am going for a walk. I need to think." The chair scratched against the floor as it was pushed violently away from the table.

"Arthur. Please," Her Mum begged.

"I will be back before lunch dear. I will stay close today. I won't shut myself off in my shed with my plugs," The love and gentleness returned to his voice. "I love you my Mollywobbles."

Her Mum sobbed. Soft quiet tears transformed to gasping full body sobs. Ginny ran the rest of the way to her room with her head spinning. The private emotions she witnessed were caused by her. Her choices triggered her Dad's anger and Mum's despair. Her poor decisions. Her arrogance. Her weakness. The pain circulating the house underneath the cheerful veneer was palpable.

Why? Why were they holding this in and pretending this was a normal summer? That she was a normal girl? Beyond the emotional hospital room confession, her Mum refused to speak about the past year. Not wanting to upset her further Ginny made sure not to bring it up. She wanted for everything to be normal. She walked around with a fake smile plastered on her face and tried to be the girl she was before.

She tried so hard to be that girl. That funny, energetic, carefree version of herself. But obviously, from her Mum's confession, she wasn't trying hard enough. Her parents could see she wasn't okay. Anger rose from the depth of Ginny's stomach. Why? Why are they all pretending? She had the urge to release the anger. Release the pain and frustration that had mounted over the last several weeks. She hurled herself onto her bed burying her face in her pillow. Muffled, Ginny released a feral scream. She tried to push the resentment and vexation through her voice.

She spent several minutes panting heavily into the pillow. Opening her eyes she could see the light peering through the corners of her yellow pillow case cover. Birds cheerily chirped outside of her window. Her Mum bustled in the kitchen banging and clanging her pots and pans. Sighing a final deep breath into her pillow Ginny went to her wardrobe and dressed for the day.

* * *

By midday, the heat climbed to a record high. The cooling charms her Mum placed around the living room were inefficient. The suffocating heat stifled them. Her Mum sat in a rocking chair with her knitting basket strewn open. A maroon ball of yarn danced at her feet as she magically clanked her needles together. A small wireless in the corner crooned Celestina Warbeck. Her Mum hummed along softly with a serene relax look on her face. Ginny watched the clock in the corner. The second hand moved slower with every passing minute. Boredom as thick as the heat engulfed her.

"It's half past noon Mum."

"Mmmhmm dear."

"Can I bring Dad lunch in his shed?"

"Hm? No, we can do that together dear."

"I don't mind Mum."

Her Mum stopped humming and knitting. The look of ease and peace left her face as her forehead contorted into rows of deep seeded wrinkles.

"That's fine dear. Just to the shed."

"Really? You don't mind?"

Her Mum sighed. Her eyes traveled back and forth. From the kitchen, to the shed, and finally to Ginny. She smiled a false smile.

"Go on dear, I know you need a little space."

Ginny felt a twinge of guilt at causing her Mum more worry. But the prospective freedom quickly shoved the guilt away. She hurried to the kitchen and prepared a simple sandwich, crisps, and some fruit. She took extra care to arrange it artistically on the plate making the apple wedges form a flower. Carrying the plate and a large glass of milk, Ginny carefully made her way to the shed. She was about to knock when she heard the angry voice from this morning booming inside.

"I have never been as disappointed in the Weasley name as I was when I received the summons from Dumbledore this year."

Ginny's heart stopped. Degredation clung to her skin her like the heat in the air. Her parents' previously unspoken words suffocated her under their weight and meaning.

"She is your sister!" A loud bang of a fist hit the door clanging it on it's hinges. "Do you have any idea how much guilt your poor Mum is feeling? At her being left to her own devices and left abandoned and alone? But how? How on earth with a brother for a prefect could she have felt she could not ask the school for help? How did none of you notice she was not herself? How did you not notice how quiet she has become? When have you ever known your sister to be quiet? Ever? She practically was born chattering about."

"Father, we tried…" Percy began.

"You didn't try hard enough!" Her Dad growled. "You two caught up with your practical jokes, Ron you are only a year above her! How, how on earth does a girl with four _loving_ brothers go an entire year possessed with none of you the wiser?"

With that Ginny had heard enough. She dropped the plate and let the glass crash to the ground. Why was last year everyone's responsibility but her own? She couldn't breathe. She needed space. She needed to air. Why was there no air outside?

She took off running for the orchard. She let her legs move of their own accord as the momentum pushed her forward. This was too much. All this anger behind closed doors, this responsibility never shared. These secrets. Why are there so many bloody secrets? This didn't feel like her family. Tom tarnished more than her soul when he brought her into his chamber.

She kept running. Burrs stuck to her bare feet as she hit the woods but she didn't register the pain. She kept running. Her lungs burned as she tried to pull more oxygen into her body. She ran faster. Sticks scraped her legs as blood trickled down. She ran further. Anywhere. Anywhere but here. Anywhere but under this magnifying glass. It was as if she was a small ant held by giants as a burning light shone on her back.

A root jutted out from the ground. Her foot hit it at an awkward angle and she tumbled into the brush. Hitting the ground hard she let her body release panting on the earth floor. She rolled onto her back breathing heavily into the green canopy of the trees. The wind rustled past her face as somewhere far away she heard her name called but the birds drowned out the sound protecting her from needing to return back home.

She didn't register the pain in her knees or palms of her hands. The constriction in her chest and tension in her shoulders released. It was as if she was breathing for the first time in months. A wave of fatigue overwhelmed her. Her eyes began to droop as the melody of birds warbled around her filling her ears with their peaceful song. A warm breeze covered her skin like a soft blanket. She snuggled into the ground allowing sleep to overtake her rather than fighting against the effects of a dreamless sleep potion.

For the first time in almost a year, she felt in control of her surroundings. No worried controlling parents. No suffocating Tom. No anxiety or fear. Just herself and her breath falling into the safety of an afternoon slumber.


	2. Chapter 2

No one spoke of Ginny's running off when she returned home that evening. Her family had a quiet stilted dinner where the only conversation revolved around asking for someone to pass the chicken. Every single person seemed lost in miserable thought. Even the twins, who would take this occasion to prod at Ron over the Cannons latest defeat, ate in silence.

"Well, this food must be good if everyone is so quiet." Her Mum tried to force some cheerful banter into the room. "Everyone seems to be enjoying and eating it."

"Mhm dear."

"Do you boys like what I did with the parsnips?"

"Yes, Mum" they replied in automatic unison.

"Very well, Ginny dear, do you like your chicken?"

"May I please be excused?"

Songbirds warbled through the open back door of the kitchen. Everyone stopped eating and stared at Ginny. Exhaustion from the day rolled over her.

"I am tired. I want an early night."

"Of course dear. You are excused."

Ginny walked up to her room as the family continued their meal in silence. Knives and forks scraped against the pottered plates. Ginny walked into her room closing the door behind her. Nervous energy pulsed through her veins as she readied for bed in her small space. She waited. She needed everyone to go to sleep before she would be able to shut her eyes. Lying curled in her bed she counted footsteps as the passed her door in the hall. She crawled under her covers and placed her head on her pillow listening to the sounds of the house. Hearing the twins stampeding up the stairs she turned out her light and feigned sleep.

A few more hours passed as the house settled. Her Mum checked on her twice. The squeaky floor boards creaked back and forth as her brothers prepared for sleep. Like clockwork, her Mum opened her door to check on her a third time. She walked over to Ginny's bed, smoothed the hair away from her face and kissed her forehead. Shaking her gently she called her name.

"Ginny, darling, do you want the potion?"

Ginny continued feigning sleep. Her Mum shook with a little more vigor.

"Love, do you want me to take the nightmares away?"

Ginny rolled over turning her back to her mother without response. She pulled the quilt tighter around her shoulders as her Mum sighed.

"Alright Ginny, we can skip a night. But if the nightmares return come find me."

Her heart raced with anxious anticipation. She hated the potion. For one morning she wanted to wake up knowing how much time had passed. She wanted to know where she had been. The anticipation of an empty night filled her with more dread than waking up screaming.

Her Mum rose from her seated position freeing the side of the bed from her weight. She left the room closing the door behind. Ginny crept out of bed and dug in her trunk. She knew the rules at Hogwarts. She knew she promised her Mum she would not use magic over the summer. She also knew if she made a noise she would have to take the potion the rest of the summer. She had to prove she was healed. That she was normal regular Ginny.

"Silencio."

Ginny felt the magic leaving her core vibrating through the wood of the wand. She cast the spell over her bed as she had hundreds of time during the school year. Ginny was free for an entire night. Pulling the covers tighter around her small body she fell into a deep sleep.

The morning rays reflected off her bright yellow walls. Birds chirped loudly outside greeting the new day. The sounds of early morning bustle rose from downstairs. Ginny stretched her body feeling strong and refreshed after a deep night's sleep. Unlike her previous nights, she felt the hours that passed. She gently woke from easy dreams and peaceful slumber. Smiling to herself, she survived the worst of it. She was healed. Tom was gone. She was able to start living again without everyone treating her like she was breakable.

"Things are finally turning around for you."

Harry stood at the foot of her bed. He was holding his hand waiting for her to follow him. His emerald eyes sparkled in the light.

"I hope you are right," She replied taking his hand and following him into the hall. They were back in the hall outside of the Gryffindor dorm. A cold blast of air bounced off the stone floor and walls.

"I need to show you something." The warmth of Harry's hand vanished. He walked further ahead towards Myrtle's bathroom. Ginny ran, struggling to keep up. Every corridor she passed he wandered further and further ahead. Panting she struggled to breathe. Harry turned away from her leaving her gasping for breath in front of the Queen.

"Your Lancelot left Ginevra." Harry's back was too her but it wasn't his voice she heard. She knew this voice. Her heart pounded in her chest as her blood ran cold. Her stomach flipped as her pulse raced. Ginny's eyes darted around the hall trying to find him.

Tom stood in front of the Queen. He pulled a sledgehammer back and slammed it into the face of the knight in the third panel.

"Did you think you were safe?" He taunted swinging the hammer in circles as he spoke.

"Did you think I will stop pursuing him? That I would allow him to rescue you without a reason?"

He slammed the hammer into the knight in the second panel. A glass version of Harry in a knight's helmet shattered, his glass body ricocheting around the hall. The Queen opened her mouth as the song of the phoenix echoed around the hallway. Glass flames traveled up from the pyre catching the hem of the Queen's skirt.

Instead of screams of agony the phoenix song rang louder from her mouth. The fire hopped from the hem to the Queen's side. Ginny could feel the heat rising on her robes. Her skin burned melting into the fabric surrounding her. The acidic smell of burning flesh rose to her nose turning her stomach. She opened her mouth gagging but red feathers came out instead of vomit. She tried to scream. Nothing came out.

Glass knight Harry lay broken on the ground. His emerald eyes glittered in the morning light. His lightning scar fractured throughout his face splitting it in two.

"Ginny. Why did you do this to me? Why did you tell Tom about me?" Harry said.

Ginny jerked awake in her bed. Her screams muffled by her spell. Drenched in sweat and panting, everything felt so real. Harry in her room, Hogwarts, the Queen, her skin burning. She took her shaking hand and gingerly touched her side expecting to find raw and angry flesh. Instead, her skin felt smooth and clammy drenched in sweat instead of burns.

She had to get out of here. She needed to feel something real. She crept to her door avoiding the squeaky floorboards. Walking down the stairs she scurried through the kitchen. The house was dark and still. She opened the back door and slid through the small crack trying to prevent the moonlight spilling into the kitchen. Cold night air laced with honeysuckle blew onto her face.

The grass lost the warmth of the afternoon sun and chilled her bare feet. Moonlight shifted between clouds illuminating a narrow path of light. Rushing forward to the broom-shed, she reached into her hair to pull out a pin to pick the lock. To her surprise, the lock was already open. Ginny's heart quickened as she looked around. An owl hooted in the distance. Crickets chirped. There was no breathing, no other person to be found outside.

Maybe her Mum forgot to lock the shed after they cleaned it this morning? But she remembered her locking it. The clangs of the iron lock hitting the wooden door. The brass key reflecting the mid-morning sun. No, she definitely locked the shed.

Ginny looked back to the house feeling eyes watching her. The curtains of her room fluttered behind the open window. What looked like her Mum, her red hair released from her braids falling on her shoulders, vanished behind a curtain. A gust of wind whirled past Ginny's head moving her plait into the direction of the Burrow. But her curtains stopped moving. Rather than fluttering horizontally from the wind going through an open window they fluttered vertically. As if someone had quickly pulled them back.

Standing indecisively, Ginny felt frozen in her space. She knew she wasn't supposed to ride her brother's brooms. She knew her Mum would think she was too small and delicate to handle flying. It was the middle of the night. Did she care?

No. Not tonight. The suffocation of the day surrounded her. Her father's anger. Her Mum's overbearing constant presence. Her brothers' mournful regret filled stares at the silent dinner. No. Tonight she needs to be free. Tonight she needed to fly.

Ginny slinked in through the shed's threshold and grabbed Fred's Cleansweep. The air smelled of broom polish and dirty Quidditch robes. Earlier that day, she removed several pairs of mildewing robes and molding socks. Left rotting long-forgotten with teenage boy sweat infusing every available space. While the culpable articles of clothing were hours removed, the residual smell lingered.

It didn't matter. Bad smells or suspicious locks aside she was free. Standing over the broom she called it up to her hands. Mounting the wooden handle she felt her feet leaving the ground as she ascended into the clear night air. She removed the remaining pins and ribbon from her hair. Long waves of copper locks cascaded down her back. The wind blew her long locks behind as she accelerated reaching the tree tops.

For the first time since last summer, Ginny felt the tension diffuse from her shoulders. Tension she didn't register holding until feeling it's absence. Breathing heavy from exertion, she blew the last of her burdens away from her body.

She changed course and accelerated towards the ground. Pushing the broom faster until she could feel the handle shaking in her hands. She leaned her weight towards her left and fell seamlessly into a barrel roll. She spun three times and then accelerated back to the tree tops. Her mind stopped racing. She focused on her grip and her aerobatics. Turning she flew a series of figure eights like an ice dancer. She adjusted her hands so her non-dominant left was steering. She pulled her weight right and barrel rolled breaking into an upside down figure eight.

Sweat dripped down her face. Her grip loosened under the accumulating moisture. Ginny flew lazy circles around the top of the apple tree and caught her breath.

Harry was safe. She wasn't burned. Tom was gone for good. "He Who Should Not Be Named" was destroyed twice by Harry. Once as a baby and once when saving her. Hogwarts was safe. She was safe.

Ginny felt fatigue return to her eyes. Her body relaxed as she lay forward on the broom closing eyes. She flew easy descending circles in a funnel around the large apple tree. She reached out her feet until they brushed the grass blowing in the moonlit breeze. Gently landing, she descended from her broom and laid in the cold dew filled grass. The cold dew dampened the back of her nightdress. The coolness was a relief to summers heat and her late night excursion.

She was safe. She has nothing to fear. Tom was gone. Harry was safe. Her heart slowed returning to normal. Sleep threatened to overcome her lying in the grass under the tree. But she couldn't get caught out here with her brother's broom. Her Mum would lock her away for the rest of the summer. Begrudgingly, she sat up, replaced the broom in the shed and returned to her bed.


	3. Chapter 3

"Ginny, pass me the trowel."

Her Mum sat back on her heels kneeling with Ginny in the garden. Cushioning charms oscillated under their knees forcing them to constantly readjust their balance. Her Mum brushed her hand across her forehead to catch loose beads of sweat trickling down her brow. It was a hot midday Monday morning. The July sun beat hard against their backs. Despite the cooling charms, Mother and daughter hunched over in the garden drenched in sweat.

"It's by your left foot darling," her Mum interrupted her fumbling. "Ah thank you. There is another gnome popping up through the Primrose."

"Got him," Ginny grabbed the gnome by his elbow and flung him into the yard. She stared enviably at Fred and George using Ron for beater practice in the Quidditch field. Round after round they whacked a small preserved pumpkin aggressively towards his head as Ron tried to roll away. She looked at her Mum wondering if she would let her play with them. But there was no need to ask. What was the point in asking for something when you already knew the answer? Especially this summer with all her Mum's hovering. Ginny sighed.

"Are you tired, Ginny?"

The question caught her by surprise. She was tired. It had been almost a week since her last dreamless sleep potion. Every night revolved around Harry meeting his downfall because of her. Tom killed him in the chamber, in Myrtle's bathroom, on the Quidditch pitch, and in the dorms. Once he possessed her and she strangled Harry in her dorm room. She felt his life draining as she squeezed her fingers around his throat. The worst part was the joy bubbling in her stomach as she felt strong and in control while draining his life force.

But she couldn't tell Mum this. She would start giving her the dreadful sleeping potion again. She would be out of control forced into the blank void night after night. No, she would avoid that at all costs.

"I am fine."

"Hm, are you sure? I noticed a lot of grass stains on your night dresses. Strange, during the day I have never seen you outside in your bed things," Her Mum said.

Ginny stopped digging as her stomach sank. She recognized this line of questioning from a mile away. Mum knows, or think she knows, about her nighttime wanderings.

"Well, some mornings I like to get up early and watch the sunrise."

"Really? Well, invite me next time. I would enjoy that," her Mum pivoted around her bold face lie. She must really have something on her.

"Another quick thing."

"Yes."

"Why have you stopped snoring? Since you were a little girl you have had a slight snort when you were in deep sleep. But this last week your room has been strangely silent at all hours of the night."

"Really? How peculiar. Maybe it is the extra pillows in my bed? I will tell Ron, I am sure his Harry and the boys would appreciate the lack of snorts coming from his bed."

"Indeed they probably would. One last thing."

Ginny tensed. This was the big one. She must have seen her or heard her sneaking out. Did her silencing charm stop working? Did she forget to close the broomshed door?

"Why did you stop writing."

The question was so out of the blue Ginny didn't have time to compose a response. Instead, she sat and waited.

"I miss you writing. You have always used to have a quill and parchment in hand. What happened?"

Ginny looked down at her pale hands covered with dirt. Dirt was under the nails, in her cuticles, encrusted in the wrinkles in her hands. Her hands looked as if they would never be clean again.

"I don't know," Ginny said giving her first truthful answer staring at her knees. Her Mum sat off her heels and onto the grass. She stopped shoveling and looked at Ginny with a reproachful gaze.

"Do you miss writing?"

"I don't know." Ginny felt her frustration and anger mounting. Why did any of this matter? Why did her Mum suddenly care about her writing and her studies? Was she worried about her falling behind?

"Are you afraid?"

The question lingered in the air. It fell heavily onto Ginny as she sat without a response. Was she afraid? She had no idea. She hadn't thought about how she felt. She thought about hating her potion, letting her family down, being a burden, but never about fear. This wasn't fair. Why should she tell her Mum how she feels now? Where was she this past year when she knew she was afraid?

"Just leave it!" Ginny yelled as the anger and frustration pulsed through her veins. It felt like fire rushing through her blood as she stood to her feet and kicked the trowel towards her Mum. Stalking away from the garden she was lifted outside of her body. She watched herself throw her shovel on the ground making a dramatic exit into the house. Her Mum's body hunched over obviously upset.

Her stomach lurched and she felt a shiver of cold air despite the heat. This wasn't her. She doesn't make people cry. She makes them laugh. She disarms them with her charm and impressions. She bends the rules until she delicately can break them. She is fearless and kind. She isn't someone who yells at her Mum sitting in the garden.

Ginny ran into the house avoiding the twins and Ron staring at her in the kitchen. They disgustingly drank from a shared pitcher of lemonade. They must have heard her yell. They must have seen her storm away from their crying Mum.

"Oh, you three leave it alone."

She started to stalk away to her room when her Dad interrupted, flooing in through the fireplace. Green swirling smoke gathered at his feet as he stumbled into the kitchen.

"Well don't look so glum! Didn't you four hear? We won! We won!" He picked up Ginny and swung her around in circles like she was six years old again. The tension in the room shattered as their Dad's enthusiasm spread. "Someone quick, go grab your Mum! Tell her we won!"

"Arthur, honestly, why are you swinging poor Ginny? You are going to make her sick. What on earth is going on?" Arthur dropped Ginny into an open chair and stalked over to Molly. He reached over, grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into a deep loving kiss. George and Fred groaned while Ron looked ashen by this sudden outburst of affection.

His hands held her face. Their eyes locked filled with emotion and passion. Her father's voice lost the playfulness as he spoke in quiet serious words.

"Molly, my darling amazing Molly. My wife who does so much and asks for so little. Molly we won." The last words emotionally whispered as his voice caught.

"Won? What on earth have we won?" Molly lifted her apron and rubbed the dirt and sweat off of her face.

"Seven…hu-hundred...gal-" Arthur could not continue before Molly screamed in delight. She pulled him back into a long drawn out kiss. Ginny smiled in spite of the anger she felt moments before at her Mum's invasive questions. Her Mum looked lovingly into her father's eyes with joy and elation.

"Blimey! Seven hundred galleons! We're rich!" Ron sputtered out.

"Not quite rich, my boy, but we're certainly not poor." Arthur came over and wrapped his arms around Ron's shoulder squeezing him into a tight embrace. "Molly I need you to go to the Prophet, collect the money, and deposit it in Gringotts. I need to get back to work. But seven hundred galleons! Everyone start thinking about how they want to spend it!"

Arthur popped back into the fireplace and grabbed a handful of floo powder from the brass pot on the mantle. Green smoke swirled at his feet as he twisted out of the fireplace and through the chimney. The last words they heard were "Ministry of Magic" before he was gone. Molly soon followed after leaving instruction with the boys to look after Ginny.

Seven hundred galleons. This meant Ron could afford a brand new wand instead of a second hand one. The twins would probably spend their share at the joke shop and on sweets. Percy would want to invest his in something responsible and sensible, probably a new set of new tailored robes. Bill and Charlie would never accept money but may invite them to visit over Christmas.

What did she want? A broom of her own was the first thing on her list. It only made sense. All her brothers started flying at home as soon as they took lessons at Hogwarts. She hadn't requested her own broom because she figured the price was out of the question. But now, everything was different. They had seven hundred galleons to use. Even if she only had 8 Galleons, they could afford a used Cleansweep 325. It doesn't have to be brand new, or a Nimbus. Just a good reliable quality broom with little wear and tear. A good cushioning charm could go a long way for longer practice sessions. And while it would always be slower in acceleration than a Nimbus, it had a tighter turning radius for some of her more aerobatic maneuvers. Yes, once Mum returns she knew exactly what she is going to ask for.

Her Mum didn't return for several hours until it was almost time for dinner. She came through the fireplace with bags containing gifts and groceries. Ginny and Percy rushed to help her unburden her load while Fred, George, and Ron started to pull away at the gift bags.

"Now get away from there!" Their Mum said sternly. "I got something brand new for each of you so no need to crowd."

The boys sheepishly backed away. The excitement over receiving something new radiated throughout the room. Ginny bounced in her seat examining the bags. None of them were large enough to be her desired broomstick. But there are charms that could shrink one to fit in a coin purse let alone a shopping bag. Her Mum picked up her bags and headed to her bedroom.

"Percy, you come first. It isn't every day I am able to do something like this, I want to make it special." Percy trailed behind their Mum with an excited expression on his face. He looked younger as if he was a small child waiting for Santa to come down the chimney at Christmas.

The remaining siblings sat in anticipatory silence. Everyone was too excited to speculate or talk. The entire day had been a whirlwind of excitement. Twenty minutes later Percy poked his head from the top of the stairs. He beamed from ear to ear and his eyes looked moist as if he had finished tearing up.

"Fred and George, she wants you together."

Fred and George scrambled out of their seats towards the steps. Ron met Ginny's gaze and smiled brightly at her.

"Something brand new! It better not be maroon."

"What do you want?"

"Anything really! But something from the Cannons would be nice. Tickets to their next game or a pennant."

"Huh, I figured you would want a new wand." Ron sat dumbfounded for a second as a look of recognition crossed his face. His cheeks blazed as red as his hair and he crinkled his forehead looking constipated.

"Yeah, I forgot about that with them put up for the summer. I guess I just assume that would come in time for school."

"Ron!" The twins thundered down the stairs like two punch drunk elephants. "Your turn."

Ron jumped from his seat sprinting to the stairs with his arms pumping by his sides. He was halfway up the landing before he looked back at Ginny sheepishly grinning.

Ginny sat alone in the kitchen. The anticipation bounced in her stomach as she twisted her left ankle in loops spelling the alphabet. It had to be a broom. Please let it be a broom. Everyone looked so excited. With her Quidditch posters and constant chatter about the Harpies, her Mum had to know she wanted to fly. She had to know she wanted her own broom and permission to play with her brothers more than anything in the world.

"Gin! Your turn!" Ron's head peaked out from the stair landing. Ginny's stomach flipped as she rose. It was time. Taking the stairs two at a time Ginny knocked on her Mum's door and waited.


	4. Chapter 4

"Ginny come in."

Ginny opened the door with her stomach flipping in circles. Her gift had to be a broom. Her Mum's room was brightly lit with the brown curtains tied to the side. Her bed perfectly made with white pillows fluffed against the cherry wood headboard. A red and gold quilt lay perfectly folded at the foot of the bed. It was the one room in the house that didn't look like seven people constantly ran through.

"Come in sweetie. Here, sit down with me." Her Mum rocked in her favorite chair. It was a gift from her brothers when she was pregnant with Bill. Seven carved names glowed in the wood of the seven spindles behind Mum's back. As a girl, Ginny use to hide in this room tracing the names of her brothers when she missed them at Hogwarts. Ginny sat at her Mum's feet looking around for anything the size and shape of a broom.

"I know we underestimate you. And I know you want to be able to always keep up with your brothers."

"Yes."

"Well, sometimes it's not about keeping up but being true to yourself and your passions. And I know you are a very passionate Weasley." Her Mum chuckled and then sighed.

"And even though it may be hard and scary sometimes, I want you to push yourself even if you are afraid." She continued.

"Okay, Mum. I can promise to be brave."

"Bravery takes many forms. Sometimes it is about facing what we fear the most to do what we love." Her Mum sighed deeply before continuing. Her eyes blinked in rapid succession as her right hand fidgeted twirling her wedding ring. "Which is why I got you this."

Molly dug into a small red bag and pulled out a crimson wrapped box. Ginny's heart sank. It was too small to be a broom. She tried to force a smile as her Mum looked so happy and proud of her choice. Ginny unwrapped the box opening it. Inside was a small Gryffindor red leather bound book. Her name, Ginevra Molly Weasley, was embossed in calligraphed gold letter shimmering in the soft light. A golden lion moved, roaring on the cover before bearing its claws as it stood on two feet.

Ginny opened the book and flipped through the thick parchment pages. It was blank. Her heart pounded looking at the blank diary. She could feel the weight of the book and knew it must have been very expensive. It was embossed with her name, was this created today? When did her Mum arrange this? She looked up at her Mum unable to hide her disgust. She fought the urge to throw the book across the room. Her skin crawled when she touched the leather bound cover as bile rose in the back of her throat.

"Wh-what is this?"

"It's a new journal so you can collect your thoughts."

"A journal? Why?"

"For you to write in." Molly's nerves caught up with her. She wrung her hands harder as she spoke.

"No," Ginny whispered. A seething anger rose from her stomach and made her skin crawl. She wanted to yell, to scream, to throw something. How could she! Why is she forcing this with such vigor?

"What?"

"No," Ginny said more forcefully. Her patience couldn't contain her anger. Her face contorted with the rage pushing its way out of her body. She could feel the hatred radiating off of her skin.

"Why?"

Ginny threw the diary onto the floor and stalked out of the room. She didn't look back to see her Mum's reaction. She didn't look back to see if her Mum was crying or was angry at her lack of gratitude. She didn't care. All she wanted was to put as much distance between herself and the book as humanly possible.

Sprinting out of the room Ginny hooked left at the hall and darted into her room. She locked her door pacing the floor. Why? Why? Why?

Why would her Mum buy that bloody book? Why is she asking all these questions about her writing? What does she want from her? Why is she pushing her? Why can't she leave her alone?

Ginny flung herself dramatically on her bed. She laid her head on her pillow and stared at her ceiling. A crack journeyed from a wet spot in the corner to her closet. There was something soothing about following the line of the crack from its origin to where it ended. She closed one eye and lifted her hand tracing the crack with her forefinger.

Her heart returned to a normal rhythm. There was nothing she should be angry about. It didn't make sense how one small book could make her so livid. She sighed and rolled over facing her wall. Why was she like this all a sudden? Why was she so angry? She never used to be angry. She loved her Mum. She didn't like who she was when she gave into the anger and yelled. The anger made her feel dirty and sullied like Tom changed who she was as a person. Like he tainted her soul all the way down to the building blocks of her being.

Ginny stayed in her room for the rest of the afternoon. Finally, she heard her Mum calling the family for supper. Ginny stayed locked away ignoring the urge to eat. A soft knock rapped on her door.

"Go away!" The angry words left before she had a chance to soften them.

"Ginny, you need to come eat with the family." Her father's calm voice commanded. He twisted the locked door opening it with ease. He popped his face in wearing his typical smile but his eyes gave away his true feelings. Wrinkled between the brow wore a worried expression, he appeared ten years older. Ginny sensed the forced cheer he tried infusing into the room and as guilt over her behavior rose. She should join her family for dinner. Her Mum must be upset if she sent her Dad to retrieve her to eat.

"Please." It was less of a plea and more of a command. She was pushing her father too far. This was his way of giving her another chance to rectify the tension with her Mum. She had a choice. She could give into the anger and resentment and keep lying in her room. She could say something hurtful and wield the power of her words as weapons hitting her father.

Or she could swallow her pride. She could do something small to start moving past these feelings. She could be the bigger person and reach out to her family. Yes, she was frustrated. She was frustrated no one talked, that her Mum pushed, that she spent the summer suffocating.

She slowly rose and walked to the door. She could do this. She could be the good girl she knew she was deep down. She could make her Dad proud. She was at the door reaching out for the handle. She closed the door. Her father sighed behind the wooden door as footsteps echoed away through the hall.

It was too much. Seeing everyone. The expectations that everything goes back to normal because they want normalcy. It's not normal. It's not fair to ask her to be normal. To be the good girl she once was. She felt her innocence draining away. Tom stole so much from her. He stole her first year, education, belief in herself. She was a husk of her previous self. The urge to run came back. There was no way to sneak out of the house now.

Unless there was.

Could she? She walked over to her window and pulled the curtains back tying them to the hooks. Warm summer sun beams glimmered through the panes of glass beckoning her to come outside. She opened the window and looked down. She was on the second floor. But the roof for the doorway was right below her. If she climbed onto the rooftop she could shimmy down the banister and be outside. Her family, distracted with dinner, would never see her escape.

Opening the window a fresh breeze blew through her hair. The warm air smelling of honeysuckle and fresh grass caressed her face. Her heart pounded with anticipation. She could feel her freedom outside the window. The sun called her, begging her to come bask in the fading day. Her legs itched to run until they threatened to fall off.

Sitting on her window ledge she lowered her feet outside. She felt weightless with a gap between her feet and the roof. It would be so easy to give into the weightlessness. To fall down.

Closing her eyes she pushed herself off the ledge. Her back scraped against the window sill as she fell hard onto the roof below. The breeze threatened to push her off as she straddled the small pointed roof between her legs. She bent forward hugging the shingles to regain her balance. The hot tar smelled sour after spending the day baking in the sun.

She had to decide if she was doing this. How would her parents react if they came back to pull her down to dinner and she was gone?

It's too late now Ginny decided. Closing her eyes she swung her right side over to her left. She landed at a crooked angle feeling her weight pulling her down the roof. She rolled and her hands threatened to lose their grip. She grasped at the shingles. Her fingernails bend backward as she lost her grip. She was falling. Her body's momentum carried her over the edge. She grabbed for the gutter. She missed. She launched over the edge. She plunged towards the ground.

A scream rang out from the garden. Ginny's body weightlessly lifted and glided like a feather. Her Mum sprang beside her side and shook her shoulders.

"What in Merlin's name were you thinking? Magic can't fix a broken neck, you daft girl!" Her Mum's voiced reached howler level. Every word increased pitch and cadence until her face turned as bright red as her hair.

Her brothers and Dad sprinted out of the house. They saw Molly shaking an unresponsive Ginny. They saw Molly's face turning pumice red as they rushed over to separate the two. Tears sprang down Ginny's face as she grabbed for her Mum and buried herself deep into her soft chest.

Safe, warm, and loved, Ginny felt something inside her break. She stopped trying to be the good girl, stopped trying to hold it all in and pretend she was okay. She gasped and sobbed into her Mum's shoulder. She cried harder than she had since leaving the chamber. She sobbed for scaring her Mom. She sobbed for yelling at her parents. She sobbed for throwing the diary and not answering her questions about writing.

She sobbed for her lost year and lost innocence. She sobbed for having so much stolen from her and not being able to get back to who she knew she could be. Her body wracked and her eyes stung. Snot poured out of her nose unconstrained onto her Mum's shoulder. Her Mum's held her close and rocked her back and forth as if she were a small babe instead of her teenage daughter. She took her head in her hands and looked her in the eyes and smiled.

"Oh, Ginny. What will we do with you?" Her Mum chuckled. Soon she was laughing. Ginny looked confused at her Mum's previous enraged face now covered in tears and mirth. New tears from laughing sprung to her Mum's eyes as her body shook in elation. They rocked laughing and crying together as the men encircled. They were completely confused by what had transpired.

"So? Is Ginny okay?" Ron asked looking bewildered from brother to brother. Fred and George shrugged at him, Percy rolled his eyes and walked back inside. Her father smiled and sat in the grass next to his wife and daughter holding them both. He held them as if letting go meant they would fall into the earth. He bent over and kissed Molly's head as she relaxed back into his sturdy frame. Ginny stayed curled into her Mum's arms as the three of them sat in the grass. Her brothers went back inside but they stayed on the grass. Watching they sky as the sun faded into brilliant crimsons and coral colors. Their laughter faded into the dusk as day transitioned into the night.

"Well, tomorrow is a new day. We wanted to tell you at dinner, but we need you to pack your things tomorrow." Her father rose from her space on the grass and cracked his back. He extended his hand to her Mum who accepted it stumbling to her feet. Ginny allowed her body to fall to the ground spraying out onto the grass as fireflies danced around her head.

"Where are we going?"

"Egypt. We are going to Egypt to see your brother. So it's a good thing you didn't run away." Her father added in cheekily at the end winking at her.

Bill! She was going to be able to see Bill! Her heart lifted as she followed her parents into the house. Her stomach growled newly hungry as she sat down between her parents. Devouring the food her soul warmed with every bite. She was going to see her big brother. For the first time in a long time, she felt like she was home.


	5. Chapter 5

"Ginny you need to wake up." Ginny jerked upwards and gasped. Reaching out she struggled to find something solid. Her heart pounded in her chest as sweat dripped down her back. Her Mum stood over her in the darkened room as an owl hooted in the distance. Ginny grabbed her Mum's arm and pulled her onto her bed next to her. Her body shook as she tried to steady herself with her Mum's solid presence.

"I need a minute." Ginny looked up into her Mum's worried face. She stroked Ginny's back making the same soothing sounds she would for a small baby.

"Is it like this every time?"

"Every time I take the potion." Ginny struggled to continue. She looked down at her hands folded in her lap. "The void. It reminds me of...it reminds me..."

"Oh Ginny," her Mum sighed while she continued rubbing her back. The two of them sat huddled in the night as the rest of the house woke around them.

"I think I am ready."

"Ok dear, I have light toast and juice on the table. We don't want to eat a great deal before the port key."

Her Mum stood first and reached back grabbing Ginny's hand helping her out of bed. Since Ginny fell off the roof, she voluntarily stayed closer to her Mum welcoming her presence. They walked downstairs to find her Dad cheerily sipping tea at the table. The twins sleepily buttered their toast and poured pumpkin juice across from Ron sitting alert and stuffing his face with as much toast as his cheeks could hold.

"Mum, I am hungry can you make eggs?" asked Ron between bites of his fourth slice of toast.

"Ronald, we are about to take multiple port keys in one day you need to eat light."

"But Mum I am really hungry." Ron persisted. Percy rolled his eyes and continued polishing his Head Boy badge.

"No, you will get sick," Molly said. She looked at Ron's pouting face."Fine, I will make you a small meal of eggs and sausage. But do try not guzzling the juice. Don't underestimate our journey."

"I need you all to take our coordinates in case we separate in the port key." Her Dad passed out slips of paper with 24°28′N 32°57′E written in small lettering. "We are going to the city of Kom Ombo. If anyone separates from the group, there will be port key officials along the way. We are taking six separate port keys. The first is a beach in Normandy, then Lyon, then Rome, then Tunis, then Athens. Finally, we will land in Bill's apartment in Kom Ombo Egypt. If you do get separated give them the paper. They will apparate with you to the Ministry building in the heart of the city you where land. Wait patiently, do not wander off, and your Mum or I will come to get you. You are not to go off with anyone else is that understood?"

"Yes Dad." the siblings replied in unison.

"Excellent. We will arrive shortly before evening supper. It will be very hot and you will feel disoriented after the travel. Bill is waiting for us and we will be able to rest up in his flat once we arrive." Her Dad went back to sipping his tea. Her Mum bustled around the kitchen stacking dishes in the sink and setting automatic cleaning charms. The house hummed with excitement at the upcoming travel as everyone clattered off in separate directions to get ready for the day.

Ginny came back downstairs after dressing to her Dad sitting at the table with his second cup of tea. Arthur finally rose from the table and shrunk their luggage placing it all in their Mum's handbag. He locked the floo and set unbreakable charms on the windows.

"Do you have someone coming to feed the chickens?"

"Yes, the Diggorys. They are back in town tomorrow. Amos said he will keep an eye on the place until we return."

"Excellent, are all the cleaning charms set?" He looked down at his watch registering the time. "We need to head out."

"Children," Molly commanded. "We need to leave. Line up, Percy you stay close to the twins, Ron you stay with your father, Ginny you stay with me."

They bustled out of the Burrow walking towards an open field. "We have about a kilometers walk. If any of you purposefully pop out of the port key I will personally take you home and wait with you the entire vacation. And you will be responsible for every chore in the house without the aid of my magic. I am getting a vacation this week one way or another."

"Yes, Mum." Fred and George looked at one another and spoke in their nonverbal language. Obviously disbanding one plan or another.

They walked through the gate at the edge of their property to an old dusty dirt road. Dew covered daisies lined the fence posts as honeysuckle climbed the gate. The fragrance of a summer morning; cut grass, fresh flowers, and dirt, swirled around them. The air had a crisp early morning chill causing Ginny to pull her jumper tighter over her loose fitting secondhand cotton dress.

"Weasleys, we are looking for an old brown shoe. It should be somewhere in this field. Spread out, we have five minutes to find it and all grab on." Arthur commanded as the family spread out combing the field looking for the shoe.

"Pst Ginny." Fred walked beside her and conspiratorially whispered out of earshot of their parents. "We need your help."

"My help?"

"Yes, we want to bring back a mini mummy but we need our Mummy distracted. Think you are up for the challenge?"

"Depends, what are you going to do with the mummy?"

"We want to put it on one of the knights outside Dumbledore's office. We will engorge and reanimate it so when Filch chases it down and opens the mask he gets the surprise of his life."

Ginny grinned. She wasn't often included in helping plan the pranks with her brothers'. Only if they needed someone small to fit into one cramped space or another.

"Only on one condition," Ginny said before agreeing. "You have to let me help you put the mummy in the knight and teach me the spell to re-animate it."

Fred looked at her with a broad smile. He nodded in agreement with a proud glimmer in his eye. George walked over and put his arms around Ginny's shoulder.

"What did our fine sister say?"

"We have our Mummy mummy distraction all set." Ginny's heart swelled. She tried to pull herself out of George's brotherly embrace but he jostled her shoulder tighter. Smirking over at Fred, Ginny caught him winking in approval.

"Excellent, Ginny, welcome to the mischief team," George said.

"Ginny!" Her Mum called sharply noticing that the twins and Ginny wandered too far to the edge of the meadow. "Boys, look for the shoe we have less than two minutes to go."

"It's over here!" Percy called out from the other side of the field.

"Quick, everyone takes hold, we have less than a minute before it activates. We can't miss the takeoff." Her Dad called everyone over as they congregated around the boot. Ginny put her hand on the heel of the boot as her Mum stood beaming next to her. She kissed the top of her head as her Dad counted down.

"10..9..8..7..6..5..Fred hold that shoelace tighter..2.1"

A sucking sensation pulled at her navel as the world swirled around her pulling her into the void. Her airways constricted as her body slid through a small tube. It was as if a boa constrictor swallowed her and the stomach muscles pushed her deeper into its bowels. Her Mum's body banged into her own. She held tighter to the heel of the shoe. Her breath compressed out of her lungs. It was hard to take a breath in. The suffocating feeling overwhelmed her as panic rose from her stomach. Moments later the feeling stopped as she gasped a large breath to fill her lungs.

The family stood on a cold morning beach. A teenage official sat under a beach umbrella with a French flag pinned on his camouflage sleeve. He looked up bored from his magazine at the panting family on his beach annoyed at their presence. He pointed to a tin can lying next to his feet before returning to his magazine and cigarettes. The family walked over and picked up the can. Ginny tried to breathe the salted air as deeply as she could before the pull grabbed her by the navel. Soon the suctioned returned pulling her into the tube. It wasn't as overwhelming the second time and she was able to breathe a little easier. A few moments later they were standing in a vast green field like the one outside the burrow. There was no obvious attendant waiting for them.

"Is everyone okay? Does anyone feel sick? I have ginger candies," said Mum. Ron looked particularly green. The twins were so disoriented they didn't notice to make fun of him. A short stout woman with a ruddy face came running, waving dramatically, trying to get them to follow.

"S'il vous plaît me suivre!" They rushed to follow her across the meadow, unsure of what she said but hearing the urgency in her voice. A paper bag sitting on the ground spun on a lopsided axis gaining momentum. "Dépêchez-vous!"

They fell over themselves grabbing at the bag. The sucking sensation caught Ginny by surprise. Unprepared, it was harder to breathe. Her Mum's handbag hit her in the back knocking her remaining breath away. She could see Ron struggling to hold Scabbers. His high-pitched whine and squeals spun around her head as they made their way through the tunnel.

They landed on cobblestones in a back alleyway in another foreign city. They all gasped as church bells boomed. Pilgrims funneled their way through the main street towards the bells. A tall broad man with a thin mustache greeted them in heavily accented English.

"Welcome Weasleys, you make a good time." He held out a plastic bag. The family took a moment to look one another before grabbing the bag. Ginny took a handle of the bag and wrapped the cool plastic around her fist. The air in the city hung thick with humidity and sat heavy on her chest. The juxtaposition of the quietness in France to the noisy bustling city was as disorienting as the port key. The hot sun beat into the alleyway as a crying child walking past them. Her Mum balanced her bag in the crook of her elbow as she wiped her sweaty brow. Ron, ashen-faced, looked as if he was deciding between vomiting or fainting. Her Dad rubbed his back and offered to take Scabbers the rest of the journey. The twins and Percy were too tired to mock or lecture and stood quietly on the other end of the bag.

The sucking sensation returned. Pulled from her navel they were off again. Ginny squeezed her eyes shut trying to stop the popping sensation flooding her ears. It was hard to hear as pressure constricted around her head. What felt like hours passed and they were standing in another bustling city.

It was late here, probably mid-afternoon. The heat was dryer than the previous city. Old buildings with giant archways surrounded them. They were in some type of courtyard but there were no flowers or plants. The archways had rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling designs. The white walls had brilliant blue and red interlocking painted lines. The painted lines wove together like an exotic rug. Instead of church bells ringing, a man's voice chanted. Drawn out words sounding like "Ahhh" called hypnotically from a large tower. Ginny looked around trying to find the voice.

"It's the call to prayer." An age-worn woman with leathery skin said in a soft voice. Her face hid beneath a vibrant red silk headscarf. Golden flowers embroidered around the border shimmered in the sun. "Come. Your key leaves shortly."

"Can't we have a quick stop?" Ron looked completely knackered. His face was olive green and he swayed on his feet.

"Not yet Ron," Arthur stood behind him letting him lean his worn body into his. "We are almost there, two more to go."

No one responded. The woman looked sympathetically at the children and handed Ron a cup of water.

"Here, grab this pitcher."

"Thank y-" The port key cut off her Dad's words. Pulled once again they flew into the tube. Fatigue threatened to overtake Ginny. The constant sucking and pressure wore on her. She tried to open her eyes but the effort was too great. They landed hard in the next location. It appeared like the port key transported them to an ancient time. Gigantic flared columns with vertical fluting towered above their heads. The distinctive stonework at the capital swirled like scrolls of rolled up parchment. Elaborate scenes of people dancing lined the deep blue sky in the intricately carved stonework lining into the rooftops. The white stone architecture was older than anything Ginny had seen before but she reached a point of being too tired to care. She buried her head deep into the crook of her Mum's arm and tried to hide into her chest. An old man with a gummy toothless smile sat waiting for them holding a long pipe filled with sweet smelling tobacco.

"We are almost there children. Fred and George, you take that end. Percy, make sure you are holding tight. Ron, stay close to your father." Mrs. Weasley's voice sounded as weary as the rest of them felt. Ginny reached out grabbing the snuff of the pipe and fell against her Mum's side.

"One more Ginny. Come on, you can do this." her Mum's voice spoke softly in her ears. Bolstered by the words she knew she could do this. Standing taller the familiar pull of the port key stretched her through one last time. The suction was the shortest of all the trips. Before she knew it she was breathing again. They stood in a small air conditioned flat with a fan circulating slowly on the ceiling. A tall freckled man with long red ponytailed hair and a dragon fang earring stood in front of the family. Ginny launched her body into his as he caught her laughing. All previous fatigue and weariness gone, she hugged her biggest brother with every ounce of her body. Burying her face into his soft leather clad shoulder pads she didn't care that he stunk of warm worn leather, dust, and sweat.

"Ginny! Make room," Her Mum scolded.

"It's alright Mum," said Bill hugging her back tighter. His muscular arms threatened to crush she small frame. He swung her around as she landed gracefully on his back and hung from his neck like a small spider monkey. "I have plenty of room for you all."

Ron took a few weary steps towards Bill before he hunched over, clutched his stomach, and vomited on Bill's shoes. Their Mum rushed over and started rubbing his heaving back while fumbling for her wand to clean the mess. Bill looked down at his dragon hide boots and back up to their Mum. He grabbed his wand from his leather holster and vanished the mess from his feet.

"I take that back, I have enough room for almost all of you."


	6. Chapter 6

_Cold water dripped in the dark tunnel. Ginny's arms lay paralyzed at her sides, useless on the cold hard stone. Sounds of a battle rang in her ears. A familiar voice, his voice, screamed in agony. A laugh cackled as one last "No" reverberated through her body. Her bones ached as she felt his pain reach her marrow. His body fell to her side, light streamed as she opened her eyes. She turned her head slowly seeing two lifeless green eyes staring at her face. His face was pale, paler than hers. His mouth was open. His eyes frozen in fear._

 _"Why Ginny? Why did you lure me down here? Why did I have to die for you?"_

Ginny jerked awake. It was a dream. She panted trying to get her bearings in foreign surroundings. Panic filled her as she looked around not recognizing anything in the darkness. She emitted a small whimper trying to figure out if she was still in the chamber.

"Ginny, Ginny, did I wake you?" A voice filled with concern flooded her as a strong hand rubbed her back. It wasn't her Mum's small sturdy embrace, the hands were much larger and filled with calluses. Bill's face looked down at her. His long hair cascaded down his bare shoulders. She could smell his cup of chamomile tea.

Ginny burrowed her face into his broad chest and breathed in his familiar scent. When she was little and had nightmares it was his bed she wandered to find. He would always hold her tight and tell her stories until she would fall back asleep. Her shoulders heaved as hot tears spread down her cheeks.

"I was back. I was back in the chamber. I dre-drew Harry down. He died for me. The snake. It kills him every night." A tidal wave crashed over her drawing all the long-held emotions out. She never reached out to her Mum or told her what her dreams were about. She would whimper in her magically silenced room until she could bring herself back to the present moment by herself. She needed to prove to Mum she was better, that she was stronger and whole.

But this was Bill. This wasn't Mum.

"I am so tired Bill. Every night, every night he dies in different ways. I can't make it stop without the potion." She sobbed harder, her body shook as his arms wrapped around her. He didn't rush or stop her from talking. He didn't back away. He stood strong and was there. He held her as she cried and didn't try to make her feel anything. He let her fall apart. She sat sobbing for several minutes until she ran out of tears. Her breath slowed as she gasped trying to regain some sense of self. Bill sat silently rubbing her back making no noise. Finally, her breathing returned to a normal cadence. She looked up, red-eyed and puffy-cheeked, towards her big brother.

"Come on Ginny. Let's go sit outside. The stars are out. Let's go count them."

Bill stood and offered his hand down to her. He waited until she put her hand in his and together they walked to the window facing the balcony. Bill crawled through first and reached back to guide her onto the small balcony. Two iron seats sat around a small iron patio table. Grabbing his wand, he transfigured an empty terracotta pot into a mug splitting the tea between them. Ginny took her mug and held it beneath her nose. It was Mum's sleepy time tea. The same tea she gives them when they have trouble falling asleep. Chamomile with something sweet and valerian root mixed. The familiarity of the drink slowed Ginny's heart to a normal pace as the warm liquid flooded the back of her throat.

"It's cooled down hasn't it?" Bill took his wand and set several warming charms. "You wouldn't expect it to be this cool at night, given how hot it gets during the day. But it does. You get so used to the heat it feels like a chill sets in."

Ginny nodded. She put her mug to her mouth again drawing in another long sip.

"The stars aren't as bright as they are in Devon. I miss that. Too much light from the Muggles in the city. And listen," Bill said as a horn from the street trumpeted and people across the road yelled. "The noise isn't like back home. It's a city so it stays busy even at night. Not as bad as London, but certainly not like home."

"Home isn't like home anymore."

Bill didn't respond. He brought this terra cotta mug to his lips and took a long drink. He waited for her to continue.

"It's different. It's hard to explain. Mum seems worried, she is always there. I am never alone anymore. I am never free."

"That is different," said Bill slowly. Silence filled the next moment as he waited for her to continue.

"And it's infuriating at times," Ginny traced the circle of the mouth of her mug. "But I don't have a choice. I have to be normal again, for Mum, so she can stop worrying. I don't know what she will be like when I finally go back to school and she can't watch me all the time."

"You know that isn't your responsibility."

"No, but it's my fault! It's all my fault, Bill. I should have known better. I did know better." Ginny put the mug down harder than she meant to on the table. It clanked into the night sky. She sighed as she pulled her knees into her chest. Her legs dug into the cold metal patio chair beneath. "I want to go back to sleep. I don't want to talk anymore."

"Do you want me to lay down with you? Like old times? I have a great story about this one time a dragon sneezed on Charlie's bum lighting it on fire."

Ginny giggled. She looked away from her feet and up into Bill's eyes. They crinkled in moonlit mirth. His smile pulled to his left side in a smirk.

"Yes please." Ginny climbed through the window off the patio, back to the transfigured couch. Ron slept, snoring soundly, on a transformed cushion on the floor. Bill flew the two mugs to the sink before turning his attention to expanding the couch. As the base shoved Ron further to the left, he grunted, rolling over staying asleep. Bill smirked again at Ginny pantomiming Ron's ability to sleep through anything.

Climbing into the bed Ginny let Bill wrap the blankets around her in like a small child. He brushed her hair off her neck as she cuddled into his strong frame. Safety, security, feelings of being a child overcame Ginny. The fatigue from the day's travels re-washed over her. She yawned before Bill began speaking in his low baritone voice. It sounded as smooth and sweet as a cello lulling her back to sleep.

"So this one time, I went to visit Charlie at the dragon reservation."

* * *

When Ginny woke the next morning Bill was gone. She heard his voice carrying from the kitchen as he sat joking with her brothers. He was re-telling the story about the dragon sneezing and Charlie's unfortunate accident. The twins' laughter howled as one of them choked on his breakfast sausage. Ginny peered over the couch's back and looked into Bill's small kitchen. Her family congregated around a small magically enhanced table. Mum stood confused at the four burner stove as Bill grilled pancakes without magic. Bill saw Ginny peaking over and winked at her as he flipped the pancakes on his flat pan.

"Busy day today Ginners, best get up and eat while you can," called Bill.

"Where are we going today?"

"First to the Crocodile Museum followed by a trip to the tombs I de-cursed." Bill flipped the pancakes onto a plate and added some butter to the skillet.

"Bill that's too much," said Molly.

"Shh. I am cooking here. Stop hovering go sit!" Ginny laughed. Bill wacked their admonished Mum with his tea towel chasing her away from the stove. Their Mum humphed at them as she haughtily sat at the table.

"I was just trying to help."

"Help, hover, call it what you want, out of my kitchen." Bill winked at Ginny again as she found an empty stool at the bar.

"You all have 30 minutes to eat and get ready or you miss the bus." He plopped a plate of eggs and pancakes in front of Ginny. "And by bus, I mean my old beat up muggle car that still smells like the old owner."

They ate and dressed in a mad frenzy. Bill stood in the corner laughing as he set his watch to ring when 30 minutes transpired. His stern face alternated between business-like and laughter as they clamored over themselves. Ginny couldn't decipher how genuine he was about leaving them behind. His watched clanged and they filed out of his front door. Percy, the odd straggler, struggled to find his Head Boy badge until Mum accio'ed it from behind one of Bill's potted plants on his bookshelf.

They walked down five flights of stairs until they reached the ground floor. A chubby old man with a long nose and rounded face slept behind a desk with a fan blowing at full blast. The television in the corner blared the morning news in a language none of them spoke. The indecipherable headlines were squiggly written lines and symbols.

"Are those runes?" Percy asked Bill pointing to the TV.

"No, that is Arabic. I am picking up quite a big living here. Amir over there has been teaching me. He is an immigrant from Palestine. He came to join his brother who lives here. He left the magical part of Jerusalem to escape the conflict. Come on, I am parked out front."

They walked through the roundabout door. Fred and George took twice as long getting through after they insisted on walking through together and pretended to get stuck. Mum looked annoyed and embarrassed as she glanced back at a sleeping Amir to see if he noticed her unruly bunch. Arthur stood next to her and kept his arm around her shoulder. His eyes did not register his children's' chaos. They were too busy darting from one muggle contraption to the next as he walked with his eyes bugging out. They saw a small electric blue two-door car sitting by the curb. Bill gestured for them to get in.

"Well, here is she is, come on family get on in before anyone sees us. Mum and Dad, you sit up front with me, kids, you are stuck in the back."

Ginny got in first, eager to ride in Bill's car. The inside of the car was spacious and welcoming. Two large rows of tan leather seats faced one another. There were three seatbelts per row and the five of them were able to comfortably sit in the back. Ginny sat next to the window behind Bill riding backward. She kept turning around to ask him questions as they drove out of the city on a winding dirt road next to the rapidly flowing Nile.

"What kind of field is that?"

"That's sugar cane and corn, muggles grow it but a few wizards help with their irrigation systems. It is amazing what they can grow in the middle of the desert with water from the Nile. On the way home I will get my machete out of the trunk and cut you off a piece of the sugar cane."

"Bill! You don't really carry a machete around with you?" Mum asked admonished.

"Oh! Isn't that some sort of muggle sword?" Their Dad asked full of the enthusiasm their Mum lacked over the device. "Can you show me the irrigetty systems too?"

"I would love to Dad. I am friends with one of the witches who runs that plot over there." Bill pointed to his right.

"What is that big building on the left?" Ginny asked.

"That is the crocodile museum. The crocodile god Sobek is featured there. Mum and Dad could give him a real run for his galleons."

"Why is that?" asked Percy. "What is he the god of?"

"Fertility."

The car burst into laughter as Mum pretended to be scandalized. She swatted at Bill's arm before sticking her nose in the air. Ginny sat back in her seat and watched the sugar cane pass by her window as they drove to the museum. The Nile river flowed beside a temple with broad Corinthian columns with intricately embellished tops reached into the cloudless blue sky.

"Are we going to that temple?" Ginny asked. Her Mum started squirming in the front seat and quickly replied.

"No not today. We are much too busy with tombs, stop asking so many questions, Ginny."

They walked past the temple and into a simple rectangular stone building. Something about the temple called to Ginny as she turned to try and get a better look.

"What is in the temple? Can we go there later?" she pulled on her Mum's sleeve as they entered the building. The air conditioning blew icy cold air without the use of charms.

"Ginny, I said no more questions." Ginny sighed at her Mum's response. She looked around amazed at all the muggles and wizards streaming into the museum from the connecting temple. Cruise boats were docked on the Nile banks as people from all nationalities explored the temple in front of them.

Standing in a room surrounded by 300 mummified crocodiles, Ginny tried to take everything in around her. All the new sights, smells, and languages overwhelmed her senses. Her fingers itched for a quill. For the first time since last summer, she wanted to document all the new sensations she never wanted to forget. The idea of asking her Mum to buy her a new one filled her with regret. She remembered vividly the expression she wore after having the last one thrown in her face.

By noon, they left the museum. The twins were relatively well behaved and only tried to feed Ron to a live Crocodile once. They arrived at the first unmarked tomb. It didn't look like the previous temple with its large columns or like the big pyramids Ginny saw in her picture books. This one was smaller, more square at the entrance, like the museum. The hot desert sun reflected off the walls radiating heat. She could smell the heat out here, like a dry burning fire in the distance. The dust felt electrically charged as it bounced off her skin. In a distance, Ginny saw the heat waves rise above the sand in wiggling waving patterns. What looked like water in a pond flowed in the distance. She the heat burned her skin and desperately wanted to walk over and go for a swim.

"What's that?" Ginny pulled on Bill's shirt and pointed to the pond in the distance.

"That's a magical mirage. You could walk after it all day and night without ever getting a step closer. Unlike naturally made ones, only witches and wizards who are up to no good chase after it. The more ill-intent you have the stronger it calls to you. It's one of the first levels of protection we installed for the tomb. It is the opposite of a muggle repulsing charm. Come on it's time to go into the tomb."

Ginny turned and saw Fred and George wandering in the direction of the mirage. She laughed as she held back from her crowded family and pulled them over towards the tomb.

"Come on you two mischief makers, let's go take some of that ill intent and find ourselves our mini mummy."


	7. Chapter 7

They entered the temple through the white limestone of the tomb door. The inside smelled dry and dusty, like the top of the broomshed in the middle of a summer heat wave. The entrance filled with light from the sun but the light stopped at the entrance. The tomb opening was so dark, Ginny couldn't tell how deep the hallway journeyed into the stone.

"Lumos," Bill held up his wand as their Mum and Dad followed.

"Now listen here, especially you Feorge and Gred, there will be zero funny business inside the tomb. This is my place of work. I received a special permit to bring you here. If you do one single thing to disturb the tomb you will wait in the car with the windows up for the next three weeks." Ron gulped staring between Bill and the twins wide-eyed. Fred winked at Ginny and nodded his head towards Mum before following Bill into the tomb.

"Here is where I finished my first curse breaking, do you see this?" He pointed his wand to the bottom corner with the Gringott's initials inscribed. The symbols were below the foot of one of the painted men standing sideways. His body faced away from his feet.

"That is my insignia. This is the seventh tomb I completed in the last year and a half. I am moving on next month to a new job site in Giza, we will go there this weekend. That is where we will see the great pyramids and the sphinx."

The family oohed and awed as Bill led them deeper into the tomb pointing to his broken curses insignas. Mum, Dad, and Bill lit the way with their wands illuminated. A bubble of lights encircled them as Bill explained how to read the different runes to Percy and Dad. Fred and George veered towards the back. Ginny made sure to keep calling Mum to the front to ask her to shine the light on this hieroglyph or that statue.

"This was a magical family," Bill said walking behind Mum and Ginny. He shined his wand onto the wall of carved figures and symbols. "This here was the patriarch, we don't know his name. But do you see how his hand was holding a stick? Muggles assumed he was a simple scribe for one of the pharaoh's sons. In actuality, we know from artifacts we found hidden in the tomb, he was a great potions master and healer. He worked for the pharaoh's son as a personal physician. The entire family was magical, you will be able to see the family wands as we get deeper into the tomb. They are different from ours. They used from reeds off the Nile's banks and from sugarcane stalks. One had a magical core of crocodile skin. Another has a core of a lion's mane. They believed the animals would pass on their powers through the wand's core."

They entered the heart of the tomb finding the family of mummies. Mum, Dad, and two children filled wooden sarcophagi. An infant was rocking in a wooden box in a cradle. Molly and Ginny neared the front of the group entranced by the family while Bill, Percy, and Arthur studied a nearby wall. Ron, Fred, and George lingered in the rear.

"Dad, can I borrow your wand? I want to see the markings on this a little closer?" George asked their Dad as Ron wandered over to Ginny and Mum to see the family laying asleep in their wooden boxes. Faintly painted hieroglyphs and ancient runes lined the sides of the coffins.

"Of course son," their Dad handed over the wand. His attention focused on a cursed rune by the family's mummified cat. "What did you say this did Bill?"

Ginny felt a swell of anticipation as her heart began to pound into her chest. This was it, they were going to steal a mummy. She saw Fred and George turn their backs to the group. They stood in front of the family's mummified dog. Several intricate wand movements later the wand they were supposed to be using as a torch glowed red. Fred shifted his position to block the light. Molly's head turned towards them curious with what they were looking at. Ginny's heart sped up. She had to stop and distract her. She rubbed her sweaty palms onto her cotton dress trying to think of any excuse to draw Mum away from the twins. Fred and George's prank counted on her.

"Mum," said Ginny.

"Just a minute dear." She turned and looked towards the twins. Fred was doing an excellent job blocking the red emitting light. She couldn't let her Mum change positions or walk over.

"No Mum, I need you right now."

"One second." She took two steps forward drawing her wand away from the wall where Ginny examined a hieroglyph.

"Mum, I need to go to the bathroom." Molly stopped moving. She sighed and turned back towards Ginny.

"I told you to drink less pumpkin juice before we got in the car."

"I know Mum."

"There is a tent set up outside the tomb Mum, we are about done here. We will meet you out." Bill said.

"Come on Ginny." Molly's back re-turned away from the twins. She put her hand on Ginny's back sighing and pushed her forward gently to leave the tomb.

She had done it. She distracted her Mum. As they walked with their backs away from the twins Ginny's heart leaped. She felt like dancing a jig. They were going to do it they were going to steal the mummy!

"And Arthur, get your wand back I don't trust those two." Her Mum said without turning around.

Ginny heard an audible groan as her heart fell. She walked out with her Mum the rest of the way through the tomb towards the tent. The tent was three bedrooms with a small living room, eating area, and kitchen. Metal lockers lined the walls with last names of Bill's team members. Giant graphs and diagrams of the inside of the tombs had x marks over gridded off sections. Stacks of notes and pages of runes littered any empty space.

After using the facilities in the tent the rest of the family joined them. Bill brought out a picnic lunch of chicken sandwiches, fruit, and crisps as they ate inside the tent.

"The rest of the tombs we are visiting are cleared so there won't be any formal facilities like this," Bill said. "We sometimes stay at a tomb for days at a time. Sleeping and eating at the worksite when cracking particularly difficult curses. It's a good time."

"Where are we headed next?" Percy asked.

"Back to the Kom Ombo Temple next to the crocodile museum. There is a special room I de-cursed with the warrior goddess Sekhmet."

"No." Mum stood up. "I mean, Bill we discussed this. I don't think that is a good idea."

Bill looked up at his Mum with a neutral expression on his face. If he was annoyed at being challenged he didn't show it.

"Yes Mum, we did discuss it, and I think it's a brilliant idea. We are going back to Kom Ombo."

"No!" Mum said firmly.

"No?" Bill questioned.

"Ginny and I are heading back to the apartment. She looks flushed. The rest of you continue on. Ginny, come here darling hold onto my arm we will apparate back."

"Mum," Bill stood up and walked behind Ginny.

"Don't push it, Bill, we may be your guests but I am still your mother." Silence sank in the tent. Arthur looked firmly at Bill telling him silently not to push any further. Bill sighed and looked down.

"Go on Ginny, you can watch the telly-vissy," Dad said.

"No, I want to see the temple. This isn't fair! I wanted to see it earlier today." Ginny's frustration grew. She had no idea what Kom Ombo was but she knew it was the most important thing in the world for her to see. Why else would Bill push the issue so hard with Mum? He wanted her to see it.

"I am not going back to the apartment," Ginny said firmly.

"Ginny take my arm." Their Mum held her arm to her and waited for her to grab on. Ginny sat with her arms and legs folded and pushed her nose in the air refusing to go.

"I am not going."

"Ginny." Mum tested.

"I am not going."

"Ginevra Molly Weasley you will come with me or you will be on the next port key back to Devon."

Ginny looked over at her father pleadingly. She wanted to go. What was so special about it that Mum didn't want her to go.

"Ginny, you need to go," Bill said.

"But Bill."

"Ginny, listen to Mum." Bill touched her arm. Ginny stood up and kicked the ground. She groused and walked with her head down grabbing Mum's arm aggressively. She felt the spinning and pulling sensation as they apparated back to the apartment with a loud pop.

"Ginny, I am sorry, but it wasn't appropriate for you."

"Why Mum?"

"It just wasn't."

"But why?"

"I am going to lie down in the backroom. It has been a long hot day. Don't leave the apartment." Her Mum turned ending the conversation. She went to the back room and closed the door.

Ginny sat on the ground sulking. Frustrated with being treated differently from her brothers she kicked the coffee table. How was she suppose to demonstrate courage and facing her fears if she wasn't allowed to go do what everyone else was doing?

Ron wasn't that much older than she was, less than a year and a half. Why was he allowed to go if this was so dangerous and scary? She needed to tell Mum how unfair she was being. Because she was the youngest and a girl didn't mean she had to be shielded and protected.

Ginny rose from the ground and marched back to the bedroom. She lifted her fist about to rap on the door when she heard a muffled sound coming from the room. She crouched onto her hands and knees and put her ear to the crack under the door. Her Mum was crying?

Ginny's stomach lurched. She put up a fuss but not that big of one. In the end, she listened and went her with her Mum. She walked back to the living area and sat on the couch. Why would her Mum be this upset?

Unless...

She looked back to Mum's closed door. She felt like she could still hear the faint sobbing coming from the backroom. Maybe her Mum wasn't afraid for her. Maybe her Mum was afraid of her.

Her thoughts sped up spiraling down a black hole. Maybe there was something in the tomb that had to do with dark magic. Maybe she was contaminated in some way where it was too dangerous for her to go into the tomb. Maybe it would release Tom or curse Harry.

Is that why she keeps having all the nightmares? Alone with her morose thoughts, Ginny felt fatigue overwhelm her. It was all too much. Why did she have to still be so different from everyone else? She was out of the chamber, when would she stop feeling vulnerable and exposed?

A few hours later her brothers and Dad returned. Ginny sat in a corner away from them, fearful she would contaminate them with her presence. An hour later her Mum came up to start dinner. Tired of being in the corner feeling like a nuisance she crawled out of the window to sit on the balcony.

The seats were hot in the afternoon sun on the balcony. Bill came out behind her with his wand. He cast several cooling charms over the patio furniture.

"Come on firecracker, sit down with me." Ginny sat next to him unwilling to talk. She looked off into the distance of tall buildings and busy traffic. A vendor selling sugar cane and frozen water peddled his wares to children down on the street.

"You are going to Kom Ombo to see Sekhmet. Mum is wrong."

"What?" Ginny's heart pounded with excitement. Her body sat up. "You mean I am not tainted?"

"Tainted? Why on earth would you be..." Bill stopped as realization dawned on him. "Oh, no. Smalls, you are anything but contaminated. This is exactly why you need to come with me."

"But when? How?"

"Tonight, pretend to be asleep. I will come and get you. We will apparate from the balcony." Bill stood and stretched looking out into the city. "I am going to miss this place in a few weeks. It's been a good year and a half."

Bill climbed back through the window. Tonight. He is going to take her tonight. Excitement and relief flooded Ginny. She wasn't tainted, she wasn't bad. She was fine. She had no idea what the Temple of Kom Ombo held or who Sekhmet was, but she had a feeling it was about to change everything.


	8. Chapter 8

"So then, the twins tried to lock Percy in the tomb. Dad and I were deep in conversation over the intricacies of moving limestone in the construction of the pyramids. We didn't realize Percy was missing until we all got in the car and started to drive away." Bill looked chagrined at Percy. Percy glowered back as he sat polishing his badge unamused by the retelling of the story.

"We drove away when I saw him running in the rear view. I yelled for Bill to hit the brakes of the automobile. Well, Percy didn't stop running and he smacked full steam into the shoe, er I mean boot, no shoe of the automobile. Anyway, he fell flat on his back." Ron laughed clutching his side as Scabbers bounced on his shoulder. Their Dad looked sheepishly at Percy. Bill winked at Ginny as he passed the parsnips. He had a devious look on his face that no one else seemed to notice.

"To be fair Perc, there are a lot of us. It's hard to keep us all straight at times." Bill said with a face full of seriousness.

"Funny, I don't seem to recall anyone else stuffed into a sarcophagus," Percy grumbled. He polished his badge with more vigor causing Ron to laugh harder. Muffled sounds of their Mum's screams from the back room carried over the ruckus at the dinner table.

"Ah! That felt wonderful. It is never boring with you five is it?" Bill said wiping his eyes with his napkin.

"Come on now off to bed. We have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow." Mum came out from the backroom followed by two morose identical redheads grumbling in her wake. "Ginny you go wash up first."

Ginny smiled sweetly at her Mum as she rose from the table. Her Mum looked quizzically at her sudden docile demeanor but was distracted by Percy's laments on being put upon by the twins time and time again. The flat settled as everyone readied for bed, exhausted after a day of climbing and digging around the tombs.

"Mum, you and Dad look knackered. Go to sleep. I can straighten everything here," said Bill.

"Are you sure dear?" Mum replied between yawns. Bill looked at her with a bemused expression before shooing her away from the kitchen. He flicked his wand as the plates and silverware began to wash themselves in his small sink. The food flew into small containers which he put under preservation charms. "Well alright dear, you do look as if you have everything under control. Don't forget to lock up."

"I know Mum."

"And make sure Ginny has an extra blanket."

"Yes, Mum."

"And..."

" _Goodnight_ Mum."

"Alright." Molly yawn again turning towards the back room.

"All of you. Bed now. Before I slip you sleeping potions in your tea." Bill's voice lost it's playful air taking on his old Head Boy authoritarian tone.

Bill gave Ginny the extra blanket. Leaning in closer he whispered, "Tonight. Midnight. Meet me on the balcony so we can apparate to the tomb. Try to stay awake if you can."

Ginny wrapped her arms tight around Bill's neck pulling him into a strong hug. She laid down on the sleepaway bed transfigured from the couch too excited to sleep. She watched the second hand move slower and slower on the grandfather clock in Bill's living room. She played a game with the clock willing it to move faster. Before she knew it her eyes were getting heavier and heavier.

"Hello, Ginny. I have been waiting for you." Harry stood outside of Myrtle's bathroom. His emerald green eyes shone in the dim light. He held his hand out waiting for her to place her in it. Ginny silently complied with his request as she brought her into the bathroom. The faucet made of snakes started to move and spoke to them.

"Enter here." Hissed the faucet in a language only the two of them could understand. She was surrounded by her peers, Beryl, Mira, Xenia, and Adelaide. They hollered at her as floating heads above the stalls. Colin snapped her picture. She tried to hide her face in Harry's back but he transformed into Tom.

" _I've been waiting for you,_ " hissed Tom.

Ginny woke with a start. Her heart pounded as Tom's voice bounced through her head.

"Ginny, come on we need to get going I've been waiting for you." Bill was standing over her prone form gently shaking her shoulders. She opened her eyes and saw him smiling at her. "Let's go Ginners, we've got a lot of ground to cover."

They walked outside to the balcony and Bill held his arm out for Ginny. She grabbed his strong muscular forearm and felt the familiar pull as they spun off into the night. They landed in a pitch black room where the ground was hard. Ginny lost her footing and started to fall but Bill's sturdy arms kept her upright.

"Here we are. We are deep inside the Temple of Kom Omba, a part that is closed to the public. Do you see that relief on the side?" Bill pointed to his left with his illuminated wand. Light erupted flooding the wall. Ginny saw a giant snake sitting on the head of a lion. Something about it felt so familiar and so foreign at the same time. She felt helpless and powerful. Something about the lion-headed woman transfixed Ginny as she walked to get a closer look. She held her hand out drawn to the wall like she needed to touch the feet of the Lioness.

"Wh-who is she?" Ginny asked.

"That is Sekhmet."

"Who is she?" Ginny asked again.

"That is a much longer story. Come with me. We need to go deeper in the tomb. To understand Sekhmet you need to understand her creator."

They walked deeper into the tomb. Bill's wand the only source of light. The reliefs changed as they followed the tail of a giant cobra. They stood in front of a relief where a Sekhmet rose above a straight line. A man with the face of a bird was below fighting the giant snake. The snake appeared to be winning.

"Here we are. Do you see that man? That is Sekhmet's father. His name is Ra. He is the sun god, the creator. Do you see how they share crowns?"

Ginny looked above Sekhmet's head. She bore a crown of an elaborate cobra encircling a golden disk. The disk shone against Bill's wand as if it were the sun itself.

"Why are they separated?"

"The snake. Apep, the opposite force of Ra. He is Ra's greatest enemy, the God of chaos. He lived in the underworld. Every night, Ra descends below the horizontal line to fight Apep. When Apep completely swallows Ra it creates nighttime."

"But how does the light come back? How do we get the morning to return?"

"Well you see, Apep never completely succeeded in swallowing Ra. Something always happens. Sekhmet, the powerful one, the warrior goddess, stands guard. And she is a part of Ra, his daughter. She stays fierce. A strong believer that morning will always come."

Ginny looked closer at Sekhmet. Her heart beat faster as her eyes memorized Sekhmet waiting patiently for Ra to ascend out of the darkness.

"We have darkness behind us. You won't remember, but the first war, it was hard Ginny. I remember Uncle Gideon and Fabien. I remember one night crawling out of bed, I must have been about eleven, and Mum was fighting with them. She wanted them to let her join the resistance. They putting their foot down saying her job was to protect us, to be the best Mum she could be. They made her promise through tears of anger that she would always put us first. Their funeral was within a fortnight. Mum didn't leave bed for a few weeks," Bill took a deep breath before continuing. "Not until she found out she was pregnant with you."

"Those were dark days. The war reached our safe and happy home. I spent a few weeks with nightmares that it was Mum who died instead of Uncle Gideon and Fabien. I never told Mum what I dreamt of, just that I was scared. Mum wasn't the same. She took her promise to her brother's seriously and started hovering over us a lot more. There was no more talk in the house about the resistance. No more dinners with resistance members or strangers coming to our door for help in the middle of the night. The dark days ended about a year after that. You were born and a few months later the "Boy Who Lived" happened." Bill stopped talking. He looked down at Ginny and saw her watching him with eyes as wide as Sekhmet's Sun Disk.

"And then things were light again. By the time I came home for my first Christmas at Hogwarts goodness was restored. Mum relaxed a little more each year. Life went on and continued. Things were good. And then I got a letter from Dad back in May about what happened." Ginny squirmed beneath Bill's penetrating gaze. Her stomach flipped knowing what was in that letter. Guilt overtook her as she looked down at her feet.

"We are on the verge of dark days ahead. Night is coming. I am not sure what happened to you down in that chamber, why you were chosen, or how Harry saved you. But I am so grateful you are safe Ginny. Your birth and Harry's loss brought our family out of the darkness. Night ended." Bill took in a deep breath. "You need to have faith. You need to trust as you stand on the horizon of night and darkness that morning is coming. Ra will defeat Apep. Even when hope is lost, even when the snake devours the god, you need to have faith. Sekhmet is one of the strongest goddesses. She is a healer and brings fertility. The goddess of war and fire. There is a reason she is represented by a lioness. If there was ever a goddess to represent a fire-filled Weasley woman, it is Sekhmet."

Ginny's arms prickled with goosebumps. She felt stronger, more fortified as Bill turned and started to walk away from the tomb. Her mind raced with images of Gods defeating snakes down in the underworld. Of strong lionesses standing guard never losing hope.

They apparated in contemplative silence back to the apartment. They landed on Bill's balcony a little after one in the morning. Ginny's head continued to swirl as she tried to take in everything Bill had said to her earlier. Could she be as brave and strong as Sekhmet? Could she stand on the edge of darkness and have faith that morning would rise again? She thought of her parents, everything she loved, being plunged into the depth of despair entering the underworld. Was that really happening again? Were Voldemort and the first war really coming back?

Ginny looked up at Bill on the small balcony. He reheated two mugs of tea with his wand. He looked older than a twenty-three-year-old should. His eyes were strained and lined with dark circles. His shoulders were pinched obviously carrying apprehension and tension. He settled down into the chair next to her and breathed in a deep whiff of his freshly brewed tea. The light with the moon shone on his face washing it in the light. He looked up with his eyes closed towards the moon with a serene look on his face.

"Ra must be fighting hard tonight. It's a full moon. I love full moons."

Ginny drank her tea in silence and gently put the empty mug back on the table.

"Thank you, Bill. Thank you for showing me Sekhmet." Their eyes met in the moonlight. He smiled broadly at her. His shoulders fell back as he breathed in a deep contented breath.

"Goodnight Ginny. I am going to stay up a little while longer."

Ginny crawled in through the window and made her way through the dark room to the couch. She huddled under her blankets pulling them tight around her shoulders. Ginny breathed in a deep breath falling asleep. Forgetting to set a silencing charm.


	9. Chapter 9

Ginny woke on the now familiar cot. Shushes and whispers came from the kitchen. The loud clattering of a large pot falling rang through the apartment.

"Ronald!"

"Sorry, Mum."

Ginny peered over the couch back. The kitchenette, decorated in multitudes of multicolored streamers, burst with her chaotic family. They cowered underneath a table, hid in the cupboard, and lurked behind the counter wearing paper party hats. The twins, flanking Percy beneath the table, blew pink party poppers into Percy's annoyed face.

"Mum?"

The Weasleys stopped fidgeting and annoying one another and looked up. Ginny's head popped like a little meerkat over the backside of the couch.

"SURPRISE!" Her family yelled blowing noise makers covering her with colorful strands of paper. At the sudden burst of jubilant noise, Scabbers ran away from Ron and hid under the couch. Ginny laughed crawling under the couch pulling Scabbers out by his hind feet. He squealed nipping at her fingers.

Ginny walked over and gave Ron back his rat. Percy pulled her into a stiff hug as she passed on her way to Mum and Dad. Her Mum took her face into her hands smiling.

"Happy Birthday my beautiful daughter," she said kissing her on the forehead.

"Happy birthday Sis!" Bill strolled over and one handed pulled her onto his back. "What do you want first? Cake or presents?"

"Presents!" Ginny said. A small stack of gifts teetered awkwardly on the table threatening to tip over. Ginny picked up the first stabilizing the pile. Wrapped in brilliant crimson paper and tied with a delicate gold bow, the present was the size of a small book. Ginny tore into the paper ripping away the bow. It was a Gryffindor red book the same shade as the paper. She turned it over. Carved into the cover was a flat Egyptian woman with the head of a lioness. A golden cobra twisted and turned as it encircled a sphere. Ginny moved the book in her hands. The light shimmered off the gold embossed cover. Bill grinned broadly watching her.

"Is it a journal?" she asked with trepidation. Her heart pounded as she opened the book finding blank pages. Panicked she looked at her Mum who was as wide-eyed as she was. Both of them looked to one another to gauge the next moment. Bill placed his hand on the book closing it. He looked Ginny straight in the eyes and with full confidence replied.

"No. It is a diary." Ginny's heart stopped. Her hands poured sweat. Her Mum looked fiercely at Bill. The anger radiated off of her.

"William. We talked about this."

"I know we did Mum. And to be fair this is _my_ gift for _my_ sister."

Ginny looked between them caught in a stalemate of wills. Walking through the tension she flung her arms around Bill's neck and clung to him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her small frame and pulled her in for a large hug. Molly's breath caught as they started laughing.

"Sekhmet?"

"I told you, she is the goddess of the fiercest Weasley Women. Including one I had to cross to give you this gift. Happy Birthday, Smalls."

* * *

The next two weeks passed in a blur of temples, pyramids, and ancient shrines. They had their picture in the Daily Prophet posing by the Sphinx. Their Mum was so excited she ordered thirty copies to arrive at their door the week they came home. Through all the new adventures, Ginny's diary stayed packed deep in her bag. At night, when she was sure everyone was asleep, she would be called to the diary, wanting to document the exciting events from her day. Excitement morphed to fear as soon her fingers brushed against the spine of the book. She pulled her hand back as if she touched a live wire causing her to give up and stuff the clothes back in the bag burying the diary beneath.

Far too soon their trip was over. The last night before returning to Devon Mum made them pack their things in an evening frenzy. Ginny's small suitcase was at the foot of a pile of luggage waiting to be shrunk for transportation. The apartment entered one of the brief quiet stages with all the inhabitants, but Ginny, fast asleep in their beds. Ron's loud snoring mixed with the ticking of the grandfather clock were the only noises in the living room with her. She stood over her bag considering whether or not to bother opening it tonight. She knew exactly where her diary lay waiting, wrapped in her socks, shoved to the bottom of her poorly folded clothing.

"You know you can pull it out." A voice startled her.

"What?" She turned around catching Bill's eyes. He looked tired again. Holding two mugs he gestured towards his window to the small balcony that had become their spot. Ginny came over smirking at him cheekily grabbing her mug sticking out her tongue. Sitting on the balcony she gazed out into the quieting cityscape. After three weeks, everything felt familiar. The horns trumpeting, old men yelling in foreign tongues, the Nile flowing in the distance. All the noises flowed to her ears as easily as leaves rustling in the Burrow's orchard.

"You are a coward," Bill's soft but blunt voice jarred Ginny away from the cityscape and back towards the balcony.

"Don't be mean."

"This isn't me being mean, I am being honest. Why are you afraid?"

The question lingered in the desert air. Several beats passed as Ginny squirmed under Bill's unwavering gaze.

"It's just…" Her words stopped.

"I mean…" Ginny sighed. She couldn't articulate why. She fiercely met Bill's eyes daring him to push her. Daring him to force the words she couldn't find.

"I know why," Bill said. Ginny's gaze pierced at him. Her heart pounded like a warrior's drum calling soldiers to battle.

"Well enlighten me."

"Enough cheek," Bill reached over and gently ruffled her hair with his knuckles. "About two and half years ago, I was sent to Egypt as a new curse breaker. Six months later, a teammate almost died because of a mistake I made."

Ginny's eyes froze wide like the mouth of the teacup sitting heavy in her hand. What was Bill telling her? How could he have made a mistake? He was her oldest brother. He was brilliant and strong. He was effortlessly cool. How could he have almost killed someone?

"I was cocky. I thought I knew everything. I knew the standard procedure was to have a teammate check your work. But I thought my one teammate, Thomas, was an idiot. Even though he had been onsite for decades longer than I had been in training. I thought his slow speed, working his way through every single nook and cranny, was because he wanted to extend the billing hours."

Bill stopped and looked down into his tea cup. "I thought I could handle everything on my own. My arrogance at not accepting his help led to my inadvertently setting off a curse. It hit him on his side three inches from his chest," Bill's voice quieted.

"He had three daughters who adored him. I met them all at a company picnic. He hung the moon for his family. And in one moment, a moment where I knew better, a moment where I knew to have a teammate double check my work. Well, had he been standing a hair to the right I would have had his daughters to answer too."

Bill took a deep breath before speaking again. He wrung his hands in remembrance. "I sprung into action when it happened. I called the mediwitch over. I started chest compressions to restart his heart. I cast protective spells around us. I stayed by his side as he was pulled out of the cavernous temple. I called his wife to meet him at the hospital. I sat in the waiting room outside his room until his wife arrived. She was completely disheveled, red-eyed and puffy faced. Tears streaming down her cheeks."

"I caused those tears, Ginny. My arrogance almost took away the most important thing in this woman's world. Her security, her best friend, her lover. All gone in an instant because of me." Bill stopped talking. His voice full of emotion, he took a deep breath of night air in calming himself.

"The next few months I felt so much panic before it was time to go back into the tombs. My heart would pound, sweat poured down my face, my hands would shake. I was terrified to tell anyone what I was feeling. Suddenly, I went from being this surefooted cocky son of a bitch to a timid scattered worker. My productivity slowed as I got stuck in every crevice, terrified I would miss something. Terrified of another mistake. And worse of all, I was angry. Anger at myself turned outward into anger at the working conditions, my training, my team. Thoughts of my potential mistakes would play in loops in my head, I thought I was losing my mind."

"What did you do? How did you fix it?" Ginny's voice lost the previous edge enraptured by Bill's story.

"I didn't fix it. Thomas did. He returned from the hospital right as rain three months later. He asked to be placed on my team. I was completely floored and gobsmacked. Why? Why did he trust me when I didn't even trust myself. Soon he mocked me for going too slow. He prodded me ahead. One day, when I was stuck in a bad spiral and I yelled at him."

' _How can you trust me? I almost had you killed?'_

"And Thomas stood there looking at me confused. Finally, after what felt like an eternity he asked me a very important question."

' _Did you intend to have me killed?'_

"Appalled I shouted no. Of course, I didn't intend to have him killed. My intention was to finish faster. I begged for him to forgive me, I apologized, I offered to ask for a new partner or give my resignation. But Thomas stood there, and then he did something that helped." Bill took a long swig of tea and looked at the rising moon.

"What? What finally helped?" Ginny asked completely enthralled by Bill's tale.

"He called me a coward." The wind rustled around them. Sand from the river banks a few miles off blew through Ginny's hair.

"And he was right. I was a coward. Part of me hoped he would want a new partner so I wouldn't have to face him. Part of me wanted to be canned. But a larger part of me was terrified. Terrified of hurting someone else with my mistakes."

"Thomas conjured me a seat and told me to sit down. Harshly, he told me the tombs could smell my fear. And then he proceeded to listen. I told him everything I told you and more. I told him about nightmares of his funeral. I told him about getting stuck on the simplest charms afraid to move forward. I told him how my thoughts were looping and screaming at me that I missed something. How I knew someone would die because of me. And he listened. To every last word. He never interjected. He never asked a question. He didn't try to fix me. He was a vessel for my fears and worries to enter. Finally, I finished my ramblings and he asked me one question."

' _Bill, do you love curse breaking?'_

"I assured him, yes, of course, I loved curse breaking. My stomach was in knots, my hands were sweating profusely at this point. I was certain I was about to be fired."

' _Then stop thinking about hurting others and start doing what you love.'_

"And with that Ginny, he stood up and walked over to the wall where a particularly tricky rune waited for us. And that morning, I started curse breaking again. I didn't forget the lessons I learned. To have my partner check my work, move slower and thoroughly step by step through the tomb. But I did forget the guilt for a deed I never committed. I never tried to kill Thomas. I made a mistake. Something bad happened because I made a mistake. But my intentions were never malicious." Bill turned to Ginny. His eyes were blazing and his hair was blowing gently in the breeze. He looked hard into her eyes trying to burrow into her soul.

"Ginny, did you intend to kill or hurt any of your fellow students last year?"

"N-no." Ginny's voice was small. It broke halfway through the single word as the no felt too large to come out of her rapidly closing throat.

"Ginny, do you love to write?"

"Y-y-yes. I do Bill. I miss it sometimes." The words spilled easier. A weight released with her admission of longing.

"Then stop thinking about hurting others and do what you love." Bill stood up and accio'd her bag through the open window. He put it on the table in front of her as he lit a gas lamp on the table. And then he left. Without another word or prodding, he left her alone with the bag and the night sky. Her diary sat at the bottom of the bag still wrapped in her socks. It called to her. Her fingers itched to pick up a quill and put down all the words and emotions threatening to burst through her skin. She felt the words building on her fingertips she felt the calling of parchment and ink. She desperately wanted to feel the quill scratching into the heavy vellum paper.

Reaching into her bag, she dug through her socks and loose undergarments. She went past the small trinkets and souvenirs. Past the storybook that felt so vital to bring but went unread for the last three weeks. And she found it. The crimson red diary. She pulled it out of the bag and looked at Sekhmet as her crown glittered in the lantern light. Ginny crawled back into the living room and saw Bill standing by the window waiting for her.

One of his hands outstretched empty waiting to receive the book. The other held a quill and ink vial. With a smirk, Ginny grabbed the quill and ink, scurried back out the window, and sat beneath the moonlight writing about nothing and everything until dawn.


	10. Chapter 10

The Burrow fluttered with cleaning spells, brooms, and dusters. All the children, except for Percy locked away in his room with vital correspondence, helped their Mum re-tidy the home. Despite setting a myriad of self cleaning charms, after its three-week vacancy a thin cloud of dust covered all surfaces. Ron and the twins dusted the rogue dust bunnies out of the sitting room while Ginny and Molly scrubbed the kitchen clean.

The kitchen shone bright and cheerful in the midmorning sun. Mrs. Skower's All Purpose Mess Removal sat next to a wooden bucket of hot water. Periodically Molly dipped her wand against the bucket reheating the water.

"Are you excited to head back to school?" Molly asked rhythmically tapping the bucket.

"Yes," Ginny replied without hesitation as she suppressed a bubble of anxiety rising against her chest. She scrubbed harder at a stubborn spot of dirt on the floor as she tried pushing the anxiety back into her churning stomach.

"You seem to be sleeping better," Molly said as she manually scrubbed back and forth on her hands and knees knocking into Ginny.

"I do?"

"Yes, you are snoring again." Molly stopped scrubbing and smirked at Ginny. "Funny how you started snoring about halfway through the end of our Egypt trip."

"Yes, well, I guess my pillow trick only works in English air." Ginny looked her mother straight in the eyes, daring her to say more.

"Guess so. Pity, I am sure Ron's roommates would have appreciated some quiet nights." Molly returned to scrubbing replacing her piercing glare at a nasty spot on the floor instead of Ginny. "Especially Harry."

Ginny's face flushed tomato red at the mention of Harry's name. The idea of his sleeping arrangements flooded her body with heat. She scrubbed harder looking down on the task at hand. Removing the stubborn dirt spot suddenly was the most important job in the world.

"RON!" Ginny yelled out. "Didn't you say you needed help de-gnoming the garden?"

"Right, I did," Ron shouted from the other room. " Mum, I need Ginny's help."

"Really?" Molly looked quizzically at Ginny.

"Well, you are always telling us to get on better. Right. I better…" Ginny popped up from her knelt position on the floor and sprinted out of the kitchen into the garden before she had a chance to finish her thought. Ron sauntered through the backdoor about five minutes later lazily chewing an apple. He found Ginny sprawled out like a star hiding in the dirt floor of the garden.

"So, what caused the code worthy escape?" Ron asked chewing his apple with his mouth wide open. Bits of apple fell to his shirt.

"Mum asking me about school and Harry's sleeping arrangements."

"Ah. Yes, that is an appropriate use of the code." Ron flopped down next to Ginny's starfish form. One arm lay beneath his head propping it up while his other hand held his apple. He chewed the apple looking at the clouds stretching his body out as if he were lazing in a hammock instead of next to his panicking sister. The sun hid behind a fluffy white mass of clouds causing a shadow to fall over them. Ginny's eyes un-squinted as she opened her eyes wider taking in the sights of the clouds drifting through the bright summer sky.

"Shall we get on with it?" he asked after a few minutes.

Ginny sat up and started looking for gnomes. Every few minutes she would peek up towards Ron to see if he would get up and help her. He stayed laying on the ground munching his apple.

"Well, aren't you going to help me?"

"No, you called the code, not me."

"Remind me of that at dinner when she starts asking after Hermione."

Ron took another bite of apple completely undisturbed. The twinge of pink at the tips of his ears was the only sign of any emotional reaction to her response.

"Let her," He said with defiance. "We are mates. You don't see me turning into a dumb and deaf tomato at the mention of her."

Ginny stuck out her tongue in response and flung the last gnome into Ron's lap before tearing off towards the orchards to hide.

It took a day and a half to get the Burrow back to all of its hygienic glory. The rest of summer past by in a lazy haze. Fred, George, and Ron spent the majority of their time playing Quidditch, much to Ginny's chagrin. No amount of begging, pleading, or stomping her feet convinced her Mum to let her out there with the boys. Ginny followed her Mum around the kitchen soliciting her case. Flying alone at night no longer felt like enough. A small bubble of anticipatory anxiety had settled in the pit of Ginny's stomach ever since their conversation about returning to school.

She was returning to Hogwarts in several days. All the happy anticipatory feelings she felt a year ago were replaced with utter dread. She was returning to a place where her only house friend was petrified by her, her roommates hated her, and her name would permanently be tied to the Chamber of Secrets and the Basilisk she unwittingly released into the school.

The anxiety built throughout the days. Her body itched to be on the broom. She needed to fly with her brothers. It made no sense for her Mum to deny her this. Ron started flying over the summers with the twins as soon as he entered Hogwarts. Why was she different? Why would her Mum deny her this?

"But Mum, Ron is one year older than me and you don't mind him being used for bludger practice. How am I supposed to make the team if you never let me fly."

"Ginny we are not having this conversation again. If you are bored help me prepare dinner or work on your knitting."

"Knitting! Knitting? You expect me to sit in here knitting while you let Ron fly off whenever he wants. He stole a sodding car a year ago and he still has more rights than I do."

"Ginevra Molly Weasley," Molly's pumice face contorted with rage. "Not one more word about broomstick, Quidditch or the like. And if I hear that type of language again, I am warning you."

"But why, just tell me why, why do you treat me so differ-" Ginny was cut off by her father tumbling through a sudden burst of emerald green flames in the previously dormant fireplace. Molly and Ginny stopped arguing and looked at Arthur lying on the floor, bum over head, covered in soot.

"Not your finest landing dear. Now, do you mind telling me why you are lying in the middle of the kitchen three hours early?" The annoyance from her fight with Ginny twinged Molly's voice as she walked over helping Arthur to his feet.

"Leave the room, Ginny," Arthur growled. His voice lacked all its usual kindness and civility. Ginny stared at him. His face was as pale as the starch white apron hanging around her Mum's neck. His blue eyes pierced into her as he yelled, "NOW!"

"Arthur! What is going on?" Concern replaced the annoyance in Molly's voice. She reached over rubbing Arthur's back as he sank into the closest chair. Ginny crept out of the room slowly and deliberately making a scene of her leaving. As she headed out to the garden she made out the word "Black" before the heavy wooden door slammed silently in her face.

Ginny stood staring at the silent door. Black. What was black? She heard whistling behind her and swung around. Percy was walking up the lane reading a letter and whistling cheerfully. He had a jovial spring to his step to match the broad grin on his face.

"Percy!" Ginny called out. Percy looked up annoyed at having his happy isolated bubble of himself and his letter burst.

"What do you want."

"What does black mean?"

Percy stopped and looked completely confused. He looked around both ways and behind his shoulder to make sure no one was about to sneak up on him.

"Is this a trick? Are you asking stupid questions to cause a diversion? Fred, George, get out here!"

"What? No, I am serious, what does black mean to you."

"I am not sure what grade you skipped, Ginny, but black is a color, the absence of light."

"No, why would Dad leave work early, shove me out of the kitchen like he saw a boggart, and whisper something to Mum about black."

"Oh not black, you mean Black. Haven't you been reading the news?"

Percy continued walking past her heading towards the shed where Errol, their old family owl, was sure to be dozing. Ginny followed asking more questions in his wake.

"What is a Black then? Is it something bad?"

"It isn't a what but a who Ginny. Sirius Black, he was a criminal who escaped from Azkaban."

"But no one can escape from Azkaban."

"Apparently someone could. Not shove off, this letter is private." Percy walked into the shed and slammed the door in her face.

Ginny kicked the door and stuck her tongue out at Percy. She scraped her feet as she walked back to the Burrow, seeing the top partition of the kitchen door was once again open waiting for her to come in.

Her anxiety bubbled to the size of a boulder. Why was Dad so worried about an escaped convict? Shouldn't this be something the Aurors handled? As Ginny reached for the door handle to cross-examine her Mum the door burst open and Molly barreled out sending Ginny spinning off to the side. Ginny straightened herself as she tore after her Mum.

"Ronald!" Mum was practically sprinting into the Quidditch Pitch screeching for Ron. "Ronald Billius Weasley!"

Ron flew over to the ground at the side of the pitch. He descended his broom and stood next to his Mum with an annoyed expression on his face.

"What Mum, we are in the middle of a game."

"When did you last hear from Harry?"

"I dunno, a few days ago I think?"

"You think or you know? How can you not know? Well was it yesterday or the day before. Come here, I need you to go write him a letter this instant. Tell him we will see him the day after tomorrow when we go to Diagon to pick up school supplies."

"We are going to see Harry?" Ginny piped up. Excitement bubbled off of her as she bounced between feet.

Molly simply stared at her before turning back to grab Ron by the arm. They brushed past her in a hurry as Molly dragged Ron over to the shed where Errol was asleep. Ginny looked at the ground at the discarded broomstick. She felt her body pulled towards the wood and straw lying abandoned and helpless on the ground. But her curiosity was piqued and she was desperate to know what Mum and Ron were going to write to Harry about. Taking one last forlorn look at the broom she sped off after Mum and Ron to try and catch some news about Harry.

By the time she caught up with Ron and Mum they were at the shed. Molly turned the handled sharply only to find it locked.

Pounding on the door, Molly yelled, "Whoever is in there had better open this door before I reducto my way in."

Percy opened the door looking ashen faced and completely mortified simultaneously.

"Percival, I am not sure I want to know why you need the shed locked but Ronald and I need the owl." Molly tapped her foot. "Now please."

Percy stepped out of the way of their Mum as she bullied her way into the small shed with Ron and Ginny following behind.

"Out Ginny and Percy."

"But Mum,"

"No buts, out. NOW."

Ginny huffed. She turned around and kicked the doorway grumbling about how she never was allowed to do anything. And she might as well be flying.

"And stay away from that Quidditch Pitch." A voice shrieked from behind the closed door of the shed.

Ginny walked kicking a stone back to the kitchen. She sat glumly at the large wooden table. She sprawled her arms out in a dramatic fashion sighing as she rested her head on her arms. Percy soon followed in behind her, red faced and equally grumbling.

"What?" He challenged looking at his little sister.

"I didn't say anything."

Percy humphed and walked upstairs towards his room. Fred and George tumbled in after him. They were sweaty, smelly, and their hair was windswept. Pangs of jealousy rose from the pit of Ginny's stomach.

"What was that all about?" Fred said.

"Why was Mum going on about Harry?" George finished.

"I am not sure."

"Did he do something daft like use magic on his muggles or something?" George lifted the pitcher in the middle of the table and poured himself a tall glass of water. He chugged it down while Ginny sat thinking. Why was Mum so upset? First Dad came home in a tizzy over this Black fellow and now Mum is practically punishing Ron for not keeping up with his correspondence with Harry.

"Unless."

"Yes…" Fred and George stopped drinking their water and looked at Ginny.

"Unless Mum and Dad's tizzies are the same...unless they are both upset over Black."

"Hm…" Fred and George exchanged a look that only the two of them could decipher. They silently finished the conversation with their eyes while Ginny stared out the kitchen window. The yellow curtains wafted in the breeze as she thought about escaped convicts and Harry alone somewhere. A deep chill ran through her body chilling her to her veins.

"Interesting indeed. Well, he better come back to school in the fall, we need him to win the Cup," said Fred.

"Why wouldn't he come back?" Ginny asked alarmed. The idea of not seeing Harry again filled her with deep-seated dread. "Hogwarts is the safest place in the world."

Sensing Ginny's distress George walked over and placed his arms around her shoulders. "Nothing to fear Ginny my Dear, old Fred is just talking nonsense. Harry will return and you can write him all the toad analogous poems to your heart's content."

Fred laughed as the two of them left the room with a rousing rendition of "His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad."

Ginny was too distributed by the day's events to chase after them. She was too upset to threaten to break their brooms if they kept singing or run between them kicking their shin before running away.

She sat staring out the window. Shaking her head she tried to get thoughts of expulsion and escaped convicts out of her head. The apprehension followed her around the rest of the day like a worn out shadow but no matter what she did, or what she tried, she just could not shake the feeling that something was about to happen. And it didn't feel like something good.


	11. Chapter 11

Ginny's eyelids felt heavy as if they were being pulled down by weights. But she wasn't sleeping. The pressure of the endless day pressed down on her like a boulder. Her mind raced with thoughts of escaped convicts, Harry alone, and her father's angry growl. The hot August air suffocated her in the absence of a summer breeze. She pulled at her nightdress trying to find some relief from her oppressive thoughts. Ginny rolled over burying her face into her pillow releasing a frustrated groan.

"Tap tap tap." A slight knock rapt her door. Ginny peered over her patchwork quilt towards the door. "Tap tap tap."

Rising from her bed Ginny fumbled for her dressing gown. She crept across the room and turned the cool metal on the brass doorknob. Opening the door she peered through and saw a familiar tall gangly form in the dark night. He leaned against her doorway twisting the waist tie on his robe with his left hand.

"Ron?"

"Couldn't sleep. You?" Ginny nodded her head in affirmation. She stepped back letting him walk through. She looked nervously down the hall towards her parent's door. It was closed.

"What do you want Ron?"

"Nothing. Couldn't sleep." He sat on her bed tracing a figure into the pattern in the carpet. His shoulders hunched as he looked into his hands in his lap instead of Ginny's questioning face. Ginny pulled her desk chair over and sat across from Ron. His blue eyes looked duller in the dark. His brow crinkled as his jaw tightened. Scabbers quivered on his lap as Ron absentmindedly stroke his back.

"What did Mum want with you in the shed?"

"She's worried about Harry. Something happened at his Uncle's where he blew up his Aunt or something. Then he ran away. He has been living at the Leaky. Wish he would have come here."

Ginny's stomach flopped in anticipatory anxious circles. She remembered last summer. Coming down the stairs filled with excitement to meet _the_ Harry Potter only to find a small scrawny boy. A boy with brilliant emerald eyes taking the whole world in, beaming the widest smile. He sat swallowed by his clothes, at least three sizes too big, falling off his bony shoulder. She was caught so off guard by how human he looked. Her hero sitting in her kitchen eating in her stool, that she lost the ability to talk for the rest of the summer.

"Is he okay?"

"I don't know yet. Haven't heard back." A floorboard outside the room creaked causing them to freeze. Holding their collective breath Ginny could feel Ron's heart pounding through the air. Ron sighed. "I guess I ought to get back to bed, thanks for listening Gin."

"Anytime," Ginny rose from her desk chair. Thoughts of Harry beaten, starved, and hurt invaded her mind. She didn't know a lot about Harry's summer life. Only that it was bad enough last year for her brothers to steal a car to rescue him. Ginny looked at her brother's face lined with guilt and nerves.

"At least we will see him for ourselves tomorrow, whether he is ready or not."

"Yeah, you are right." Ron smiled. "I almost hope he doesn't get the letter, it would be fun to surprise him."

* * *

"Now remember just a pinch, floo powder doesn't grow on trees. And speak clearly." Mum stood in front of the fire in her best robes. Their school trunks and things were shrunk and stuffed into Mum's handbag.

"Leaky Cauldron." Percy recited with pomp and circumstance stepping into the green flames. His head boy badge glistened in the rising flames reflecting a green beam across the kitchen.

"Fred you go ahead next."

"Sure Mum," said Fred as he pinched a portion of powder from the pot. "But just so you know, I am Geoooooooorge."

He pretended to spin dramatically in the fireplace. Mum sighed and rubbed her brow.

"Go."

"Leaky Cauldron." Poof. A burst of green flames swept him into the chimney.

"George, I mean Fred, I mean, whoever you are go."

"Just teasing Mum, I am George. See you in a bit! Leaky Cauldron." The emerald flames encircled him as he departed in a poof of smoke.

Mum sighed and looked exhausted. She turned with a weary smile towards Ron and Ginny.

"Please, no dramatics."

Ron grunted as he grabbed the powder. His shoulders were hunched and he barely spoke above a whisper as he stepped into the emerald flames. Scabbers squealed loudly trying to wiggle his way out of Ron's tight grasp. The smoke swirled around his downtrodden head as he met eyes with Ginny. His brow crinkled as a pit formed in the base of Ginny's stomach. A She tried to offer him a weak smile as he swirled away to London.

Ginny waited for the flames to subside and smoke to dissipate before she grabbed her own pinch of powder. Throwing it into the back corner of the fireplace she articulated Leaky Cauldron.

A suctioning sensation swept her into a long tube as she swirled away into the smoke. Closing her eyes tight she waited until her feet hit the hard stone fireplace. The sounds of a hustling pub filled her ears. The smell of food cooking wafted into her nose and gurgled her stomach. Ginny realized she was still a little hungry after her light breakfast. She opened her eyes, taking in the older but clean building. Dark wood paneled the walls and continued across the ceiling. Rafters with candlelit chandeliers intersected high above her head. The room was massive, at least twice the size of the kitchen at the Burrow, but the darkness of the wood made it feel small and intimate. Breakfasting witches and wizards of all ages filled the pub. They sat at tables with their morning teas talking about their upcoming days.

A small group of familiar red heads surrounded a very tan girl with bushy brown hair near the back corner of the pub. Ginny walked over to her family and saw Hermione's familiar smile beaming back at her. Her Mum walked to the manager's desk and began conversing in fast-paced tones. Her hands gestured wildly pointing up towards the staircase that led to the rooms for let. Ginny watched as they left walking up the stairs continuing their frenzied conversation.

"Have you all got your supplies yet? The front desk clerk said Harry already left," Hermione said to Ron. Ron relaxed as he looked into Hermione's face. They walked away from the others unnoticed in comfortable strides. Ron pushed into Hermione's side with his elbow jostling her off-kilter. His relaxed face transformed into one of irritation as they bickered about something. Ginny pulled forward to rush after them when something held her back. Arthur, still conversing with the Grangers, placed his hand on her shoulder restraining her from chasing after the pair.

Ginny's stomach sank. She had hoped to stay with Ron when they found Harry. Annoyed she shot a pouting look at her Dad. Arthur, too busy talking to notice her, continued on about teeth drills undisturbed.

"Pst Ginners." Fred stage whispered over towards her. She turned her head and saw him gesturing her away from their Dad. Ginny wriggle away from his tight grasp on his shoulder cautiously walking to the peripheral of the group.

"We need you to distract Percy."

"Why. What are you going to do to him."

"Nothing too bad," Replied George with some hesitation.

"Define too bad."

Mum stomped downstairs ahead of the now shaking manager. She wore a cross look on her face. Ginny jumped back beside her father as the twins kept talking in hushed tones.

"We will tell you later. Just trust us." Fred pleaded. Ginny snorted. This wasn't the first time they tried to use her as bait. She scanned the room and saw Ron's fire red head conspiratorially smooshed against a brown bushy one.

"Family, it's time to go shopping." Molly counted redheads and came up short. "Where is Ron? Oh there you are, come on don't wander. We need to get you a wand."

Hermione jerked her head up when Molly called Ron's name and walked over to say goodbye to her parents. Ginny followed close behind her Mum with the twins trailing close.

"What do you say?" George asked. Ginny sighed. She looked into George's brown pleading puppy dog eyes. Whatever they had in mind probably equals trouble. And trouble equals fun. A burst of energy pulsed through Ginny as she turned and faced George with her best bored and uninterested expression. She could get a chocolate frog or two out of this.

"Fine. But you owe me five frogs on the train," she said with her face etched with a deadpan expression. If she gave away her excitement at being included they would make her do this for free. She pushed all the excess energy down to her feet and willed her hands to stay still by her side.

"What? 5? You're mental." George huffed at her.

"Okay find someone else for your scheme." She turned to face their Dad again. "I am sure Dad would be interested in this."

"2 Frogs."

"3. And I keep the cards." George turned to Fred who shrugged.

"Done!"

The cobblestones were alive with frenzied activity of students, parents, and shoppers. Molly tutted at Ron and Hermione to keep them from running off together to go looking for Harry.

"We will find Harry soon enough. The desk clerk said he left shortly after breakfast and is wandering around unaccompanied. Arthur went up ahead to find him. But right now we need to go get Ron his wand."

Ron grumbled while Hermione shoved him in the side shooting him a fierce look. Ginny heard Hermione mutter something about language. Ginny giggled under her breath as Ron rolled his eyes with an annoyed grimace on his face.

"Percy, you take Ginny and the twins to the Parchment shop. No funny business. We have a lot to do today." Molly said with her sternest expression. The twins pretended to shake and gulp as they competed to see who could react in the most melodramatic fashion.

Ginny kept to the back of their disruption watching as Percy tried to leave the embarrassment of his brother's behind. Molly sighed and walked with Ron and Hermione in the opposite direction away from the twins.

With Mum out of the way, Ginny quickened her pace to meet up with Fred and George. She punched Fred on the back of his arm smirking as he spun around to face her.

"Ow. Whatcha do that for?"

"So what's the plan?"

* * *

It was the last store for the evening. They had to leave to meet up with Mum in 10 minutes. This was her last chance to complete her mission. After three failed attempted she had to make contact.

Three chocolate frogs and bragging rights were riding on this.

Ginny's heart pounded as she stalked Percy around the dusty old bookstore. Fred and George were waiting at the front to cause a diversion. She just had to give the signal she was ready. Blood pulsed fiercely through her body as she felt every hair stand on her skin. Her skin felt flushed and hot when she spotted the silver badge flickering in the setting August sun.

"Coooo coo cooooo" she quietly hooted towards the twins. Having given the 3-minute warning she slinked through the stacks and placed herself between the twins and Percy. She picked up a stack of books and balanced them precariously on the edge of the shelf.

"BANG" a shot rang out in the front of the shop. The twins distinctive laugh caterwauled throughout the shop. The shopkeeper, a small old woman with blue hair, jumped screeching at the sudden sound. Percy spun around as if his robes had caught fire, completely red in the face. He stalked over towards the sound of the noise when Ginny sprung into action.

Screaming slightly she knocked over the books into Percy's path. He lost his footing and fell over the sudden pile of discarded books.

"Percy! Are you alright! What was that noise?" Ginny asked innocently leaning over to help him up. "Are you hurt?"

She brushed off the front of his perfectly pressed robes. He pushed her hand away as she felt it. She felt the silver glimmering edge of his head boy badge. Stretching her fingers she tried to pry it loose but it was stuck with some type of charm on his robe. She brushed against the robes a second time shooing away invisible dust and grime. She felt her outstretched fingers hit the badge again, her heart pounded so hard in her chest she was certain it would give her away. This time she pulled harder and felt the fabric beneath sticking as it pulled away from Percy's chest.

"Ginny, that is quite enough. I can help myself up thank you very much." Percy got to his feet and walked away. "And clean up this mess."

Ginny's stomach sank as she fell to her feet to pick up the books. Failure. Determination rose from within. She turned and faced the twins with a resolved look on her face. She nodded no in their direction right before they turned running out of the shop and straight into their Mum. Ginny ignored the commotion of their Mum apologizing profusely to the clerk while staring daggers at the twins. Tonight. She would figure out a way to get that badge tonight. Before they get on the train that badge would be hers.

Ginny lagged behind during the walk back to the Leaky Cauldron. She had an idea. If she left dinner a little early, she would be able to sneak into Percy's room and nick the badge. She saw George looking back at her and she nodded towards him signaling she needed to talk.

"Nice try back their Ginny, but no frogs."

"I just need one more chance. Can you cause a diversion at dinner?"

"No too many witnesses, you won't be able to sneak up and back in enough time."

"I will. One last chance. I know I can do it. I know I can."

"Don't worry, Fred and I will get it in the morning." He pulled her into a sideways hug. "You can help us next time."

They walked in silence back to the pub, with Ginny's mind racing with ideas on how to get the badge. Distracted, she walked into the pub and saw Percy vigorously shaking hands with a black-haired scrawny kid. Ginny's heart exploded in her chest. She saw his emerald eyes look up and briefly met her gaze. Everyone else in the room disappeared for the moment when she swore he smiled at her.

The smile pushed her over the edge. Heat exploded in her face turning it a humiliating shade of blazing red. The moment was over as fast as it began. The room came crashing back into her awareness with deafening noise and chaos. She tried to mutter a small hello or how are you but no sounds made their way past her clenched jaw.

Ginny stayed silent the rest of the night. It wasn't until the pudding she mustered a giggled when George turned Mum's face her special shade of howler red. But for the most part, Ginny sat reserved and allowed herself to fade into the background. Mum kept sneaking glances between herself and Harry. Ginny knew everyone assumed her sudden bought of somber quietness was due to Harry.

And for once it was to her benefit.

"Mum, I am tired, can I go up to sleep?"

"Of course darling, make sure you pack your trunk."

"Yes, Mum."

Ginny crept up the stairs leaving during another strong burst of laughter to mask her void. Her heart pounded. Percy took his robes off before dinner. His badge was still affixed to the robes. She could get it. She knew she could now that she had time.

Ginny slinked past her door and into her Mum's room. Her wand was in her Mum's handbag. Reaching in slowly she pulled out her old friend. A spark shot from the tip as she left the room and she reminded herself to contain her excitement.

She found Percy's door and examined it for any markings or traps that might sound the alarm once she opened the door. Finding none she turned the handle. It stayed sturdily in place. Pulling out her wand she whispered, "Alohomora" and heard the click of the latch. She was in.

Creeping into his dark room she tried to not move anything. Allowing her eyes to adjust to the darkness she looked around the perfectly orderly and neat room of Percy Weasley. It was easy to figure out which half was his instead of Ron's. Nothing was out of place or left in a helter skelter position. A place for everything and everything in its place didn't begin to describe his orderliness. Scanning the room it was easy to spot Percy's robes hanging in the wardrobe.

Ginny crept over avoiding moving the wardrobe doors. They were ajar enough she could squeeze her small body through the crack to stand in the wardrobe itself. His silver badge glistened in the moonlight. Ginny reached up to grab it before stopping. Something was wrong. Looking closer at the badge she realized it didn't have the words "Head Boy" etched in silver. It was blank. Ginny's heart pounded. It would have been a costly mistake to touch the decoy.

Smart boy. He is expecting something tonight.

Where would he put the real badge? Could it be in his pocket? Could her risk be in vain?

Ginny scanned the room in deliberate patterns looking for a small glimmer of silver. She caught it, a glimpse, underneath a book lying on his nightstand. She walked over and pulled the silver badge out from under the book. Then she ran.

She ran from the room and closed the door silently. She pulled her wand out to relock the door before scurrying into her Mum's room to redeposit her wand. Laughter from downstairs began to die down. She heard chairs scrape against the hard stone floor. Her heart pounded realizing she had only a few minutes to get the badge into the Twins room and be in bed.

Sprinting out of her parent's room she came to a skidding stop in front of the twins door. She flung open the unlocked door and waded through the discarded clothes, books, and parchment. If Percy's room was the epitome of order the Twins were the pinnacle of chaos. She flung the badge onto George's unmade bed, turned around and ran to her room and waited.

Heart beating like a kick drum she crept under her covers. A few seconds later her Mum opened the door, checked on her, and closed it again. Her alibi was intact. 5 minutes later she heart the bellowing of Percy calling for Ron. Ginny giggled gleefully from her bed. Her feet kicked in triumph unable to contain her excitement. She did it. She pranked Percy with the twins. Those chocolate frogs were hers.


End file.
